Mom has always been a hockey fan, and she still has emotional attachment to the players she grew up with perhaps most of all. None of them, not even Jean Beliveau, could match Mr Hockey (and she grew up an Armstrong-led Leaf fan).
Author: macdo
June 6, 2016: An overwhelmingly difficult week
This is one that is hard for me to re-read, I could re-immerse myself very quickly in the feelings of self-doubt, etc brought on by too many horrible convergences in the same week. Sometimes it helps to get overly philosophical, and this was one of those rants. I can see myself processing through the paragraphs.… Continue reading June 6, 2016: An overwhelmingly difficult week
June 6, 2016: Keep your politics in your caregiving
One of the great fortunes I have had in the process of helping Mom has been being forced to dismantle a lot of white male privilege within myself. The post goes on, I won’t do it a second time but in a sentence: Many– too many– of the skills needed to be a caregiver are… Continue reading June 6, 2016: Keep your politics in your caregiving
April 13, 2016: Mom gains weight and I brag
I bragged about it then and I still do now; Moving mom home I was frightened of my ability to get enough good food into her. I also left her to set her own appetite levels for a long time– not realizing that they were dropped by the dementia itself. She has been frail and… Continue reading April 13, 2016: Mom gains weight and I brag
February 27, 2016: Watching political documentaries with Donna
Television with Mom is likely the thing we do together the most, as it is an easy default. But deciding what to watch is a struggle. Do we watch programs that she holds values about, but would likely not be able to follow in depth? What programming makes sense for her? Can I enjoy programs… Continue reading February 27, 2016: Watching political documentaries with Donna
December 20, 2015: Why Christmas is so hard now
I admit to having an internally visceral response to even considering re-reading this material– the Xmas of the first year Mom was home with me was one of the harder times for me to get through, and while I do not wish to suppress the emotions associated with what I learned about myself and this… Continue reading December 20, 2015: Why Christmas is so hard now
October 14, 2015: Mom turns 75
Perhaps obviously, I wrote this in the morning of Mom’s birthday before we went out. I don’t remember all of many days, even many of the better ones of the last few years have had one over-arching vagueness in the memory after the fact. One day at a time life is like that. But I… Continue reading October 14, 2015: Mom turns 75
October 12, 2015: Mom goes to the polls
Elections are a right of people regardless of their ‘competence score’ so long as it is possible in any fashion to determine a non coerced choice for your ballot. As luck would have it, she wore clothing that represented the colour of the differing party candidates. I asked her to point to the colour of… Continue reading October 12, 2015: Mom goes to the polls
October 1, 2015: Mom gets a chair from The Captain
A good friend offered up an old wheelchair he wasn’t using to us a few short months after Mom moved home. I was skeptical, as I both thought she would resent it and that it was bad for her– “don’t use em, lose em” is your muscle tone and strength. But, why not, I thought…… Continue reading October 1, 2015: Mom gets a chair from The Captain
September 27, 2015: Mom couldn’t walk last night
The ability to decompress after something traumatic takes place is a learned skill, at least for myself. Something that is less common now than it was then is well exemplified here– the panic, hyper, over-the-top stimulated and wired I would get from dealing with tough situations would take me days to shake out. Managing emotions… Continue reading September 27, 2015: Mom couldn’t walk last night