Me thinks I should semi-apologize to my now grown children. When they were little I NEVER used band-aids. My mother opinion was the majority of open kid wounds needed to be only scrubbed clean, a little antibiotic ointment and the good old air would form a quick scab and all was well. During the Owie period of time, a wet paper towel took care of any oozing blood, dirt, and was cool to the burn of the scrapes sting. As well as, the child could then be distracted, the paper towel thrown away and the drama was over. Band-aids were expensive, dirty and caused more drama when they had to be removed. Very logical and I am sure all proven by scientific experimentation and documentation.
I specifically remember one time leaving Devin home to care for the children. That was mistake number one. Then we did not put up Trent's hotwheels, mistake number two. When Fred and I got home all the kids were in bed and Devin proudly announced Trent had taken some road rash but he had taken care of it. Devin went to bed. We went and got Trent up and the kid had road burn down the entire side of his little body and the dirt and gravel were still in it. Devin had wisely used wet paper towels, ointment and for the really bloody areas as many band aids and gauze pads that he could possibly lay his hands on. Trent looked like a wounded soldier of war. I wish we had taken a picture. So we spent the next hour while Fred held the screaming Trent and I scrubbed out the already dry wounds.
So back to my original post of a semi-apology to my grown children. You guys are TOUGH!!! you are TROOPERS, You did blood and gravel and road/carpet burn like little soldiers..... Way to go !!!!you are awesome.
I on the other hand, tripped and fell at the movie theater last night. I hurt my knee. I came home with my knee REALLY hurting. When I looked I had a quarter size scrape with old blood and a little dirt in it and it was KILLING.
I started to whimper with the thoughts of cleaning it off. I didn't clean it. I wanted a band aid but couldn't find one. So instead I put an ice pack on it took a Tylenol and went to bed.
I am a better mother than I am a kid. I forgot how scrapes hurt. I am so sorry. I could have at least offered you a cookie or Popsicle or maybe a little bit of lovin' along with the wet paper towel. May you forgive me; but you are better kids for it. ( I am sure of it) But please, when I am in my dementia unit and I scrape my knee or elbow or bleed a little will you offer me a cookie, Popsicle and little bit of loving along with a band aid?
Love you, Mom
PS, but raise your kids on wet paper towels!!!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Tom and Lisa
I don't know any other way to get the message to Tom and Lisa.... Congratulations!!!! someone please tell them for me. I saw cute baby Caroline's picture on Brindy's blog. Oh my gosh.... she looks just like one of Jane's babies with all of that dark hair. She is beautiful. I agree with Ali... they need to start blogging.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Dementia?????
I am sure by now that everyone is aware I work in a memory care unit aka... dementia unit. We are NOT a nursing home as I have to reinforce to everyone but then what is the difference? We look like one... old people sitting around. And we certainly smell like one, although if you come on certain days it might be cinnamon flavored pee smell and then again it might be flower pee smell...depends on the choice of air freshener. But we are really very different. And why do I love it so much.
Dementia is the inability to perform your activities of daily living ie: bathing, dressing, eating, working, etc and is caused by many things. Vascular dementia ( stroke etc.), parkinson's dementia, alchohol induced dementia, lewey body dementia and then of course alzheimer's. But the main thing is that it is the death of certain parts of the brain. It is not typical in the aging process. Our youngest resident is 58 years old!!!! that is only 4 years older than me. He was the CFO of a large national retail chain. He began to notice that he could not remember his bosses name and then he was having a hard time with numbers. This was progressing over a few years until his son found him in a garage where he had been for days because he forgot where he was and how to get out. Now he cannot operate the remote on a TV and cannot remember how to use utensils so he is going onto finger foods. Our oldest is a spry 91 year old woman who loves to shop at Chico's, wears groovy looking jewlery but unfortunately hears the voice of a man who is an alcoholic and wants her money. All auditory hallucinations. Then we have everything inbetween.
It is a wonderful place to work. Never a dull moment. I had noticed for many weeks that Miss M. was only laying around and not responding. One day, I was in the day room when the piano player came and I started to sing and dance ( yes, it was not a pretty site as I twirled around belting out she'll be coming round the mountain) But lo and behold Miss M. perked up and began to sing with me. Then we found out she could sing bicycle built for two and many other songs. Now she is one of our favorite kareoke singers.
I dance with all of the residents and how funny it is to dance with the men. We will start to slow dance and pretty soon their hands are patting my bottom... some things are never forgotten. The men break out into big grins when they get their morning kisses from me and especially if they have been just shaved. One of my favorite men used to be a colonol in the military. He is non-verbal but will come and join us in our meetings and will stand there in the at ease stance. He can stand for HOURS... it is amazing. But do not come up and startle him because he has knocked several of our residents flat with his fist.
Ms. E. loves her baby doll and will sit and stare at it for hours and will rock it and hold it. Unfortunately Ms. I also likes this particular baby and she is into kidnapping the baby. Often we will have Amber alerts for the missing baby. We usually find it in Ms. E's dresser drawer where it is being held hostage and then we have to set up a decoy to make a switch. During the holiday season we had a little stuffed boy Christmas ornament sitting on the piano. Ms. P. came to me and gave me two dollars and told me to give it to that poor little boy sitting there because no one was looking out after him. She also told me that he must be a poor little "bastard" child from the streets. She was so happy when I let her take the little 'bastard boy" into her room and he spent the holiday nicely cared for as he rode around in the basket of her walker.
I love to write airline tickets to Greenville so Ms. M will take a bath without screaming like a banchee. She proudly comes into my office nice and clean and I present her with the next ticket to Greenville so she can go home to see her mother ( who has been dead for umpteen years.) I also write out dry cleaning tickets to Ms. I. who will only wear the same clothing unless the dry cleaning service comes to get them. But she is fine if she has her ticket. Unfortunately, someone came in and stole her hair. She wanted some of mine but then we decided that my hair was not as pretty of a color and would not look good if I gave her any.
It is a happy place. The young guy dismantles all of our fire alarms. He also sets off all of the door alarms ( we are a locked facility)... He figured out how to crawl out of his bedroom window but ended up in the locked court yard. Bummer. It must have been like digging that hole to china and then finding that you are still within the walls.
Ms. V. forgets where the bathroom is. She came into my office and pooped on my upholstered chair. Then pulled her depends up and went on... Good job Ms. V. !!!!at least you remembered you needed to sit somewhere before you poop. That was probably the most comfortable toilet seat she had ever sat on.
What can you learn from this disease. These people teach me so much every day. They have taught me that living in the moment is a good thing. There is no yesterday at my work. There is only yesterday for all of us poor people who still remember. If they poop in my chair there is no lingering horror of having made a mistake. There is also no tomorrow or even the next hour. All there is is right now. Right this very minute and what is going on. I give Mr. B. a big hug and kiss and he smiles from ear to ear. Then I walk away and 5 minutes later come back and it is another moment to give him a big hug and kiss and allow him to smile from ear to ear because he has forgotten the first one and is seeing me again for the first time. Every thing is a moment.
It has made me stop and think of what I do with my moments. Do I add joy or make it a sad moment? Life to me is a little less complicated when broken down into moments.
Dementia is the inability to perform your activities of daily living ie: bathing, dressing, eating, working, etc and is caused by many things. Vascular dementia ( stroke etc.), parkinson's dementia, alchohol induced dementia, lewey body dementia and then of course alzheimer's. But the main thing is that it is the death of certain parts of the brain. It is not typical in the aging process. Our youngest resident is 58 years old!!!! that is only 4 years older than me. He was the CFO of a large national retail chain. He began to notice that he could not remember his bosses name and then he was having a hard time with numbers. This was progressing over a few years until his son found him in a garage where he had been for days because he forgot where he was and how to get out. Now he cannot operate the remote on a TV and cannot remember how to use utensils so he is going onto finger foods. Our oldest is a spry 91 year old woman who loves to shop at Chico's, wears groovy looking jewlery but unfortunately hears the voice of a man who is an alcoholic and wants her money. All auditory hallucinations. Then we have everything inbetween.
It is a wonderful place to work. Never a dull moment. I had noticed for many weeks that Miss M. was only laying around and not responding. One day, I was in the day room when the piano player came and I started to sing and dance ( yes, it was not a pretty site as I twirled around belting out she'll be coming round the mountain) But lo and behold Miss M. perked up and began to sing with me. Then we found out she could sing bicycle built for two and many other songs. Now she is one of our favorite kareoke singers.
I dance with all of the residents and how funny it is to dance with the men. We will start to slow dance and pretty soon their hands are patting my bottom... some things are never forgotten. The men break out into big grins when they get their morning kisses from me and especially if they have been just shaved. One of my favorite men used to be a colonol in the military. He is non-verbal but will come and join us in our meetings and will stand there in the at ease stance. He can stand for HOURS... it is amazing. But do not come up and startle him because he has knocked several of our residents flat with his fist.
Ms. E. loves her baby doll and will sit and stare at it for hours and will rock it and hold it. Unfortunately Ms. I also likes this particular baby and she is into kidnapping the baby. Often we will have Amber alerts for the missing baby. We usually find it in Ms. E's dresser drawer where it is being held hostage and then we have to set up a decoy to make a switch. During the holiday season we had a little stuffed boy Christmas ornament sitting on the piano. Ms. P. came to me and gave me two dollars and told me to give it to that poor little boy sitting there because no one was looking out after him. She also told me that he must be a poor little "bastard" child from the streets. She was so happy when I let her take the little 'bastard boy" into her room and he spent the holiday nicely cared for as he rode around in the basket of her walker.
I love to write airline tickets to Greenville so Ms. M will take a bath without screaming like a banchee. She proudly comes into my office nice and clean and I present her with the next ticket to Greenville so she can go home to see her mother ( who has been dead for umpteen years.) I also write out dry cleaning tickets to Ms. I. who will only wear the same clothing unless the dry cleaning service comes to get them. But she is fine if she has her ticket. Unfortunately, someone came in and stole her hair. She wanted some of mine but then we decided that my hair was not as pretty of a color and would not look good if I gave her any.
It is a happy place. The young guy dismantles all of our fire alarms. He also sets off all of the door alarms ( we are a locked facility)... He figured out how to crawl out of his bedroom window but ended up in the locked court yard. Bummer. It must have been like digging that hole to china and then finding that you are still within the walls.
Ms. V. forgets where the bathroom is. She came into my office and pooped on my upholstered chair. Then pulled her depends up and went on... Good job Ms. V. !!!!at least you remembered you needed to sit somewhere before you poop. That was probably the most comfortable toilet seat she had ever sat on.
What can you learn from this disease. These people teach me so much every day. They have taught me that living in the moment is a good thing. There is no yesterday at my work. There is only yesterday for all of us poor people who still remember. If they poop in my chair there is no lingering horror of having made a mistake. There is also no tomorrow or even the next hour. All there is is right now. Right this very minute and what is going on. I give Mr. B. a big hug and kiss and he smiles from ear to ear. Then I walk away and 5 minutes later come back and it is another moment to give him a big hug and kiss and allow him to smile from ear to ear because he has forgotten the first one and is seeing me again for the first time. Every thing is a moment.
It has made me stop and think of what I do with my moments. Do I add joy or make it a sad moment? Life to me is a little less complicated when broken down into moments.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
How come I'm always the weird one?
How often do you take the random tests which will tell you more about yourself than you care to know?
I am a sucker for them and then when I don't like the results I feel bad.
For instance, the test my family all took about who we are most like. My mother- Albert Enstein. My sister, Mother Theresa...... I was the only one in my immediate family who came out like Sadam Husein, or however you spell his name.
So I just took the crayon test to tell me who I am.
If Shannon came out a classy purple then certainly I would be purple...isn't it like blood types?
Nope... read below:
You Are an Orange Crayon
Your world is colored with offbeat, confident, and stimulating colors.You have a personality that's downright weird - and you wouldn't change it for anything.Loud and expressive, you voice your opinions fearlessly and strongly.And while you have a strong personality, you can be friends with almost anyone.Your color wheel opposite is blue. Your confidence is something blue people truly envy.
It is so nice to know as I fall asleep that my suspicions of myself are confirmed. I am downright weird and I wouldn't change a thing.
So go to Shannon's blog and tell me what color crayon you are.
I am a sucker for them and then when I don't like the results I feel bad.
For instance, the test my family all took about who we are most like. My mother- Albert Enstein. My sister, Mother Theresa...... I was the only one in my immediate family who came out like Sadam Husein, or however you spell his name.
So I just took the crayon test to tell me who I am.
If Shannon came out a classy purple then certainly I would be purple...isn't it like blood types?
Nope... read below:
You Are an Orange Crayon
Your world is colored with offbeat, confident, and stimulating colors.You have a personality that's downright weird - and you wouldn't change it for anything.Loud and expressive, you voice your opinions fearlessly and strongly.And while you have a strong personality, you can be friends with almost anyone.Your color wheel opposite is blue. Your confidence is something blue people truly envy.
It is so nice to know as I fall asleep that my suspicions of myself are confirmed. I am downright weird and I wouldn't change a thing.
So go to Shannon's blog and tell me what color crayon you are.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Insomnia, how I hate it
Lately I have been having trouble with insomnia. I hate taking Tylenol PM because it causes me to have a real hang over feeling in the morning. So after a few nights of sporadic sleep I decided to start digging through my drawer of drugs.
Now those who know me well will remember my philosophy about raising kids. When you travel or when the kids were just plain ornery or sick I used the wisdom of "When in doubt, drug them out." Meaning a good dose of Benadryl or back then paragoric could solve many problems. I know, don't report me. The children survived. Yet on the other hand, I never used band-aids because I didn't want wimpy children and band-aids were expensive so all open bloody issues were solved with a wet paper towel.
Now back to my post, I was digging through my drawer of narcotics obtained from adult children who had had surgery or teeth pulled etc and I would get the narcs filled and then rarely would let them have any substituting it for tylenol.... and no I never took the pills either.
When low and behold I found a prescription of Ambien from Trent's finger surgery. My problem was solved. I would take 1/2 of an ambien. I took it one night and had a wonderful sleep (of course knowing ambien is habit forming) I took another 1/2 on another night. Great nights sleep. And then came Monday night.
Monday at work was horrible. I had to appear in court on Tuesday with a resident and the family so I thought I would take a whole Ambien and go to bed early. I did. Wonderful!!! great night's sleep. Got to the court room and the resident's daughter started talking about our conversation of the night before. What conversation I asked her. She looked at me oddly told me the one we had on the phone at 11:00 PM. I didn't have a conversation with you. Yes, I did. She showed me the phone log. WOW... I had NO recollection of that phone call. Thankfully, I was nice on the phone call. That was a scary feeling!!
I figure I could take Ambien 5 mg and have a colonoscopy or anything else and be fine. who needs Versed for procedures or surgery when you can take Ambien and wake up refreshed.
So last night, I was lying in bed wide awake and noticed a florescent square on my ceiling. don't laugh. There is a florescent square on my bedroom ceiling. I asked shannon this morning why the kids painted a florescent square on my ceiling and she said they did not. I lay awake all night looking at the square..... could I have painted it while on the Ambien????
Anyway, last night after tossing and turning for HOURS... I decided to count my blessings instead of sheep (yes, I have been listening to Christmas music) in order to help me fall asleep.
I remember starting with Devin and getting all the way to Trent. Sorry Brett and Whitney but now there is Amanda and Tom to stick in there but it doesn't mean I am not thankful for you.
Good thing I have so many kids..... and PS... for those who use Ambien turn off your phone and hide the florescent paint.
Now those who know me well will remember my philosophy about raising kids. When you travel or when the kids were just plain ornery or sick I used the wisdom of "When in doubt, drug them out." Meaning a good dose of Benadryl or back then paragoric could solve many problems. I know, don't report me. The children survived. Yet on the other hand, I never used band-aids because I didn't want wimpy children and band-aids were expensive so all open bloody issues were solved with a wet paper towel.
Now back to my post, I was digging through my drawer of narcotics obtained from adult children who had had surgery or teeth pulled etc and I would get the narcs filled and then rarely would let them have any substituting it for tylenol.... and no I never took the pills either.
When low and behold I found a prescription of Ambien from Trent's finger surgery. My problem was solved. I would take 1/2 of an ambien. I took it one night and had a wonderful sleep (of course knowing ambien is habit forming) I took another 1/2 on another night. Great nights sleep. And then came Monday night.
Monday at work was horrible. I had to appear in court on Tuesday with a resident and the family so I thought I would take a whole Ambien and go to bed early. I did. Wonderful!!! great night's sleep. Got to the court room and the resident's daughter started talking about our conversation of the night before. What conversation I asked her. She looked at me oddly told me the one we had on the phone at 11:00 PM. I didn't have a conversation with you. Yes, I did. She showed me the phone log. WOW... I had NO recollection of that phone call. Thankfully, I was nice on the phone call. That was a scary feeling!!
I figure I could take Ambien 5 mg and have a colonoscopy or anything else and be fine. who needs Versed for procedures or surgery when you can take Ambien and wake up refreshed.
So last night, I was lying in bed wide awake and noticed a florescent square on my ceiling. don't laugh. There is a florescent square on my bedroom ceiling. I asked shannon this morning why the kids painted a florescent square on my ceiling and she said they did not. I lay awake all night looking at the square..... could I have painted it while on the Ambien????
Anyway, last night after tossing and turning for HOURS... I decided to count my blessings instead of sheep (yes, I have been listening to Christmas music) in order to help me fall asleep.
I remember starting with Devin and getting all the way to Trent. Sorry Brett and Whitney but now there is Amanda and Tom to stick in there but it doesn't mean I am not thankful for you.
Good thing I have so many kids..... and PS... for those who use Ambien turn off your phone and hide the florescent paint.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Balls update
I have just arrived back from the single adult "party." The balls were a smash but the name was not. First off, I need to admit to the fact that my balls were soft and mushy, kinda like a creamy filling rather than a cake like filling. I spoke with Devin and Amanda's balls were more like a cake. The difference being that I added all of the frosting and didn't use all of the cake.
Well, everyone thought they were delicious and could immediately tell they were a red velvet cake taste held together by something.
I didn't get to put a sign up but someone asked who made them and I admitted to it. They asked me what they were and I proudly said balls. The crowd of 16 went silent. Only one lady laughed and she said we would call them red velvet truffles..... I still prefer balls.
Well, everyone thought they were delicious and could immediately tell they were a red velvet cake taste held together by something.
I didn't get to put a sign up but someone asked who made them and I admitted to it. They asked me what they were and I proudly said balls. The crowd of 16 went silent. Only one lady laughed and she said we would call them red velvet truffles..... I still prefer balls.
Balls
Today I ventured into Amanda's world and attempted the cake balls minus the lollipop sticks. I am girding up my loins and heading off to a single adult activity tonight where we have to bring a food item. I got such a laugh from Amanda's food blog and the comment about whether it was immature to laugh at the written word "balls." Yes, Amanda we are a like in many ways and I will continue to teeheehee whenever it is used.
So I thought maybe these cake balls would be a good filter for a potential date. Mine are made of a red velvet cake mix and cream cheese frosting. Let me give you some words of wisdom from an "experienced cook;" do NOT over bake your cake by forgetting to set the timer but thinking you set the timer, hence waiting for a LONG time wondering why your cake is not done.
If you over bake then you need to only use the middle and then don't use the bottom either... but it still works just doesn't produce as much. When you are forming the balls, I would suggest a melon baller or someting because if you are doing this and the door bell rings and you are the only one home it looks like you have just done something really mysterious and illegal as your hands are covered in red gritty looking stuff.
When the balls are on the pan to go into the freezer, don't let anyone see them as they will think you have just made meat balls from some very bad looking hamburger meat.
OK, well my cake balls are all dipped and look groovy and I am taking them to the single adult activity. I am putting up a label saying "BALLS." The first man, oops brother, who laughs is who I will go flirt with. If there isn't any man/brother there that laughs then the night will not have been successful as there won't be anyone who would understand my sense of humor.
Wish me luck with my "balls."
So I thought maybe these cake balls would be a good filter for a potential date. Mine are made of a red velvet cake mix and cream cheese frosting. Let me give you some words of wisdom from an "experienced cook;" do NOT over bake your cake by forgetting to set the timer but thinking you set the timer, hence waiting for a LONG time wondering why your cake is not done.
If you over bake then you need to only use the middle and then don't use the bottom either... but it still works just doesn't produce as much. When you are forming the balls, I would suggest a melon baller or someting because if you are doing this and the door bell rings and you are the only one home it looks like you have just done something really mysterious and illegal as your hands are covered in red gritty looking stuff.
When the balls are on the pan to go into the freezer, don't let anyone see them as they will think you have just made meat balls from some very bad looking hamburger meat.
OK, well my cake balls are all dipped and look groovy and I am taking them to the single adult activity. I am putting up a label saying "BALLS." The first man, oops brother, who laughs is who I will go flirt with. If there isn't any man/brother there that laughs then the night will not have been successful as there won't be anyone who would understand my sense of humor.
Wish me luck with my "balls."
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