Snow....

Mom was back to being agitated last night. I think it's sundowning. She was upset and crying off and on. I couldn't figure out what was upsetting her. I tried to get her to color but she was not very interested. She tried it, but she was too agitated. At dinner time she slept awaking just in time for the meal to be over for everyone else. I fed her most of her dinner and she ate it readily.

There was about a quarter of an inch of snow on the ground this morning when I awoke. The sound of the snowplow and shovelers foreshadowed this. It's rather cold too. I suppose it's time.

On Friday night I watched the movie "Baby Mama". It was a nice diversion for me as I found it quite funny. It took my mind off of Mom for a while.

Tomorrow it's back to the grindstone at work. I've enjoyed my time off by reading, knitting, watching movies and straightening up around the house. I've finished my mittens Annie! And they look great. I'll take a picture as soon as I'm done blocking them. I've also spent some quality time with Mom.

Life is like an Amusement Park Ride

Mom's mood has been like being on a roller coaster. Up and down, happy, teary. Agitated, calm. She keeps asking when she can go home. I try to distract her with a hand massage or a game and that seems to work for a while. Television programs will agitate her. Today she was watching "Little House on the Prairie". It was an action-packed episode about a runaway train. Mom was agitated and upset so I changed the channel to a comedy and she calmed down. But I'm not sure how to answer the "I want to go home" statements. It must be frustrating to be told that you are already home so I just try to make her feel safe and comfortable instead. There should be a college course on caring for the person with dementia.

I'm also worried because I was never able to obtain a follow-up specimen to make sure that her UTI is gone. I feel like such a poor caregiver because I don't want to upset her so I choose the path of least resistance.