Since I tend to only blog on the challenging things that occur in my life (because after all, those are the things with plot!–things that POP!–that have “drawing to the Lord” power), I thought you should know that there are many daily things that aren’t that bad, even joyful. And a many posts ago, I talked about my sister urging us to look for the “Audrey blessings.” I’ve named several in the past posts.
But know that every evening at 8pm, we give Audrey her ice cream–with some of her medicines crushed and included, because otherwise she complains that she takes too much medicine. Then at about 8:15, every evening, we all three of us do a crossword puzzle together. Believe me, it takes all three of our brains to accomplish this. This is a lot of fun and we all enjoy it. Audrey loves the attention.
Four days a week, Mon-Thursday, she goes to a “social club”–they call it to make it sound fun to the elders. It’s actually elder care. She goes from about 9:30am to 3pm. This gives us some time and it gives her stimulation. Otherwise, she sleeps a lot, both from the medications she takes to diminish the mental problems (hallucinations, paranoia, and delusions) and because sleepiness is a symptom of the LewyBodies dementia and Parkinson’s Disease. The days she is here, I’ll usually do a crossword puzzle with her during the afternoon and try to think of things she can do, like fold laundry and put the silverware away from the dishwasher. Unfortunately, it’s too hot to take a walk. But this Fall, we can do that again.
So, that’s about it. Audrey dresses herself, feeds herself, and I help her shower. Yes, it’s all a challenge, but it’s amazing how you can get used to anything. A year and a half ago, when it looked like she would have to live with us, I thought my life was over. But God strengthens and little by little, we’ve developed a rhythm that works. It’s been 14 months now that she has lived her.
So, I always need prayer, but it’s not ALL bad! Forgive me if I make it sound like everything is bad.