We had a real mixed bag of a day yesterday. Started out kind of tough. Mom had another of her "just-can't-get-out-of–bed" days. She responds much better to Chris than to me, but even Chris couldn't make much headway. We started at 7:30 and finally got her up around 10. Chris has to jump start her to get her to eat breakfast. She first put a spoonful of cereal into Mom's mouth, then put the spoon into Mom's hand and guided it. It took around 45 minutes for her to eat a bowl of cereal. We finally got her to Libbie's Place around 11. The goal is to be there by 9. Tough start to the day.
And then Cailyn came over. She was excited that the day was warm and the sun was out. That meant she could spend time outside. And when she got that idea into her head, there was no stopping her. She did invite me to go along, though. She informed me that we were going to a parade. She had been to one of the Mardi Gras parades the day before, so she knew how to do it up right. She tossed her purse over her shoulder, put on a string of beads (and made sure I was wearing the biggest ones), and even accessorized with an antique pillbox hat Chris found for her. Gorgeous. A bit sassy-looking, perhaps, but gorgeous. We walked to the edge of the street where I was quickly informed that I was not allowed to step off the sidewalk. If I did, "the mean man will come by and tell you the cars will run over your toes." Needless to say, I stayed well back. She waved and smiled as the make-believe floats passed by. Suddenly, he head whipped around and she said, "Did you see that, DadDad?" Inspired by the moments, I gave it my best shot, "You mean the float that just went by or the clown over there?" Momentarily taken aback, she turned back toward the street just to make sure she hadn't missed something. Satisfied, she continued, "No, DadDad. Look out there in the street." I looked. And she turned toward the offender and began quite a little tirade. Hands on her hips, she fussed, "Curus George. You get out of that street right now. You could get hurt out there, Curus George. You get over here to me right now." I guess the little monkey finally listened and got out of the street. He can be a mischievous one, you know.
Then came last night. We were watching TV, and around 9:00 Mom got up and left the room. We assumed she had gone to the bathroom, but when she didn't come right back Chris went to check on her. She was in bed, sound asleep. That wasn't a bad thing. Just meant she didn't get her nightly eye drops or her evening medication. Both are fixable situations. Later, as we were getting settled into bed ourselves, Chris heard an unusual noise. I didn't have my hearing aids in, so I missed it. She rushed into Mom's bathroom. I was close behind, but I waited outside the door for my cue that it was OK to enter. Sure enough, Mom had fallen and was propped against the bathtub. Chris called me in and we got her seated so she could regain her sense of balance. It took both of us and her walker to get her back into bed, though. Kind of scary. But the night was still young. I couldn't fall asleep after all the excitement, so I was working on my fourth crossword puzzle. Around 1 a.m. I heard Mom enter the bathroom again. I listened intently, willing myself to hear if she fell again. I heard the door open again (it has a quite distinct squeak), so I kind of relaxed my vigil. But about fifteen minutes later Chris jumped up and once again left the room. Instead of going back to bed, this time Mom had gone into the kitchen and was fixing her a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Chris let her know what time it was and stopped her from taken her morning round of medications. It took some doing, but she finally talked her into returning to bed. Of course by then I was even more wide awake than before. I remember seeing 2:30, then 3:30, before I was finally able to get to sleep. Now that's the kind of thing I remember Dad doing when he was fighting Alzheimer's. He wasn't a fall risk, though. Chris said she was going to call Mom's doctor today and get an appointment. Just to make sure it's not something else causing this particular tank in behavior. Of course I woke up, wide awake, at 6:15 this morning. I guess my body was just reminding me that "though the sorrow may last for the night, joy comes with the morning." Great song. Great Scripture. Great God.
Psalms 30:5 says, "For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning."
Father, thanks again for that reminder. No matter what happens, you will always be there in the morning. Keep walking with Mom through this season of her life. Amen.
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