Books

I am a voracious reader, especially when it comes to self help and illness. I found 2 good books on Alzheimers that I have been devouring. They are The 36 Hour Day" and "Into the Mist". I have learned so much about this disease. The first thing to remember about ALZ and dementia is that your loved one is not intentionally doing things to aggravate you. In the early stages, they are just as freaked out as you are by the changes in their mental acuity.

Tonight Mom and I went to Applebees for dinner. She likes to get out and I think it's important for her to do so. She has this new thing where she will put the napkin under her plate, like it's a placemat. Not sure what that is all about. Other times when we have been out she has done other unusual things. Like once at breakfast she poured her apple juice on her pancakes.

I am still struggling to get her to shower, at least once per week. I have cut back my work week to 32 hours in hopes that I can spend more time with her and keep her mind stimulated. She does seem better too.

I try to refrain from treating her like a child, but she is so child-like sometimes and other times she is so maternal. It's a very strange thing.

I worry about taking care of her. I hope that I am doing a good job and making good choices for her. I work hard to make sure she is comfortable and that she is eating nutritiously.

I also wonder if Alzheimers is in my or my siblings future. Hopefully by that time researchers will have made enough progress so that Alzheimers will not be quite so devastating. I hope.

Musings

Who are the Hollywood producers telling actresses that in order to be a 'star' they have too look like a bobble-head doll? Most actresses are such skeletors. Lindsey Lohan looked awful when she was so thin, she looked so much prettier when she was normal sized. And Laura Flynn-Boyle; she really needs to put on some weight, she is another skeletor. Why are women told they cannot succeed in the entertainment business unless they are pencil thin, while men can be any shape or size? Case in point is the judging on American Idol. Why can't someone with talent like Mandisa succeed in the business? Why is it OK for a guy to be overweight? Hollywood is really, really screwed up.

Good Day

Today was a good day. In fact, it was a beautiful day. My mom was like her old self; it was nice to experience that. And the sun was out! It was beautiful. I spent time relaxing, something I haven't done for a long time, and enjoying life. I was able to pretend that things were like they were before....

Watched Idol tonight. This season just is not generating the same excitement for me that last season did. But I do like Paris Bennett and Chris Daughtry. And the last song that Katharine did was really good. I feel really old though; I didn't know any of the current songs that the contestants sang (except of course "Something")...

Sweeps Month

Oh boy, it's sweeps month on TV and local news is going crazy. Just saw a teaser for tonight's news about state employee pensions. Yes, taxpayers fund part of these pensions, but guess what folks? State employees are taxpayers too! There are jobs available at state agencies, check out the Department of Employee relations and you too can get a job at the state with a pension.

Rainy days and Mondays

Monday, manic and rainy. Crazy day at work. Mom woke me up at 12:30 AM to tell me she took the garbage out. I couldn't get back to sleep. Was achy and tired in the AM at work. Then the rain. It's been raining since Friday, steadily. But everything is so green and gorgeous. We really needed the rain. Trees have popped with leaves. Spring is finally here. There is nothing like spring in the midwest. We've survived winter and now we are ready for rebirth. Crab tree blossoms are ready to bust. I've even seen lilacs in bloom.

Painter came tonight and gave us an estimate for painting our living, dining room and kitchen plus 2 bedrooms. The cost is reasonable. She is going to recommend some colors too for Mom's bedroom and the den.

My beautiful kitty is here, comforting me. She is my best friend.

Immigration Redux

I want to make this perfectly clear: I am not against immigration. Immigrants have been and will continue to be essential to this country's growth. I am against illegal immigration. There are thousands of people trying to emigrate to this country legally. If Congress grants amnesty to the illegals who are in this country, what does that say to the thousand who are waiting to come here legally? I am against granting amnesty to illegals. I do not condone what they have done to get here. I do not like the fact that they are making little or no effort to assimilate into the American culture; they are trying to force us to make everything bilingual. English is the language of this country.

I had a friend who tried to buy chorizo in a latin market in small town Minnesota. They refused to sell to her (and they didn't speak English). How can it be that an American can be discriminated against in her own country? This is wrong and this is the kind of thing that only inflames people against immigrants.

Trying to interupt our economy is another thing that I disagree with. That is biting the hand that feeds them. Let them go home and try these kinds of tactics. Speaking of 'home', why isn't the Mexican government doing more to increase the standard of living in their own country? Now I am reading that Mexican is becoming like Colombia when it comes to illegal drugs. We need to control our borders better against these types of threats.

North Country

Watched the movie "North Country" tonight. I remember reading about the sexual harrassment case back in the early 1980s in the mines. I can understand both sides of the issue; the mining industry was in turmoil then and good paying jobs were being threatened. But the women did not deserve to be treated that way. They were only trying to make a decent wage too, in order to feed their families. I think that suit had to be filed in order to improve working conditions for women not only in the mining industry but also in all industries and workplaces.

I thought that the movie did a really good job showing the culture and the lifestyle of rangers. Charlize Theron was excellent in the role of Josie Aimes.

Child-like

As my mom's dementia progresses, she becomes more child-like. Today I took her to get her hair permed and cut. She wanted to take her shoes off when we got to the salon.

I struggle with her as far as hygiene is concerned. She doesn't want to bathe so, as you can imagine, she sometimes gets a little ripe. How does a daughter tell a parent, gently, tactfully, to bathe? Advice from others includes to make it fun, like a day of beauty. I never thought I'd be caring for my mom like this. It's so hard to go through this with a parent.

So far we have had a string of good days. Mom hasn't been too emotional. She gets upset at the drop of a hat. But then who wouldn't if they knew there was something up with their mind? She is still with-it enough to know that things are not right with her memory.

Transplant

I'm a Minnesota transplant. I was born in Michigan and moved to Minnesota when my father accepted a new job.

I have fond memories of a magical place in Michigan; Mackinac Island. I've included a link on my blog. Where else can you get away from the noise of cars and go back in time to an era of relaxation? Over the years, things have changed on Mackinac, but the essence of the island is still there.

Growing up, I was intrigued by the history of the Straits area and I voraciously read anything I could get my hands on about the region.

My father designed one of the ferry boats that plied the straits between Mackinaw City and the island. That was a very cool thing to me.

I never grow tired of reading about the island and hearing about the things that are going on there.

It really is heavenly there.

Gasoline Prices

Today when I drove past the local SuperAmerica, I noticed that the price of gas is at $2.89 per gallon. I am pretty certain that it will be over $3.00 by the 4th of July. That will leave most of the commuters in my area at a loss since the state has put more backing into new highways and less into public transportation. In fact, city bus routes were being eliminated only a few months ago. Suburban bus lines seem to be booming with increased ridership though and I am glad to see that. Still, people are commuting many miles in big, huge, gas-guzzling SUVs and they are not carpooling.

I do not believe that the answer is to drill for oil in ANWAR. The solution is to find alternate energy resources, increase the MPG of vehicles (I want a Prius!) and fund more public transportation. It's been nearly 30 years since the energy crisis of the 1970s and Americans are still consuming oil and other energy resources at an alarming rate. Except now we have competition from China. Oh and we have greedy oil companies who seem to be making money at alarming rates. Just heard on the news that in China a gallon of gas is going for less than $2 per gallon and in Venezuala it is .19 cents a gallon! It's time for Americans to stop this dependency on foreign oil and find alternate energy sources as well as ways that we, as consumers can save energy and stop global warming.

Immigration

My great grandparents on my mother's side emigrated to the US from Germany in the 1860s. They settled in the Detroit area where my great grandfather started a business and contributed heavily to his community. My great grandparents spoke their native tongue at home, and my grandmother spoke German too. She was bilingual. They didn't come here expecting that everything would conform to them; they adopted the language of the United States and they sent their children to school where they were taught in English. The other thing about my great grandparents is that they came to this country legally. They went through the proper channels and become US citizens. I don't believe that someone who comes to this country ILLEGALLY has the right to US citizenship or even amnesty over someone who has legally tried to emigrate here. It is unrealistic to keep our borders open so that anyone can cross over and enter this country illegally. We should not be rewarding people who break the law! I do support a guest worker program that would require workers to come here temporarily, and through the proper channels, apply to become citizens. This would also force employers to treat these workers with respect and fairness. But those who are here illegally should not be allowed to cut to the front of the line ahead of legal immigrants. It is important for the US to maintain a strong and secure border, especially in these uncertain times. I think it would benefit the workers as well so that it would be less likely that they would be taken advantage of. The US needs to accept people from all over the world, not just our latin neighbors. Everyone should have the chance to come here as long as they follow the law of the land. And they should work to become Americans and melt into the pot, not stir it and try to meld it into their image.