Wedding Day, 1949

Young and Feeling Pretty in Greenwood Lake

Dementia is a nasty and dehumanizing disease. Taking care of Mom can be challenging at times. I know at some point I will laugh about this, hopefully big belly laughs and good memories, but I am not there yet. It was a rough night last night. Matter of fact, lately, every night is rough because Mom has her days and nights mixed up. She naps a lot during the day and is asleep by the time I get home from work. Not just napping, but sound asleep, as if she is exhausted. I wake her up and she opts to skip dinner, although I must give her the nightly meds. She isn’t hungry for dinner but she sure would appreciate something sweet to wash down those nasty meds. I comply because she must have her meds with something in her stomach, so rather than argue with her and have regrets later, I just give her something sweet.

She will then go right back to sleep and at 3:00 am, I hear shuffling around the house. I get up and let her know that it is the middle of the night and that she must go back to bed. Of course, she couldn’t care less and just goes about her business. My mother is a child again…I’ve come to learn that children are for the young! There is a very good reason why young people have babies…they can do it. Grandparents send the little ones home…because they can’t handle it. When you are getting up at 5am to get ready for work, this is not a good thing. Makes for a cranky daughter and a crankier employee.

Not exactly sure how to handle this situation although I’ve been given advise that she is at the point of possibly taking sedatives at night to help her sleep until she is back to being awake during the days and sleeping during the nights. Now I understand why the doctor always asks “Is she sleeping during the night?”

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