primarycaregiver2022

  This morning I am loading the dishwasher, cleaning up the kitchen, running laundry, etc. Instead of putting on a podcast to occupy my thoughts while Mom sits in her reclining chair, she is reading from my new Kindle book on the ipad. She does not understand what the device is, but she is able to read from the screen.  My new Kindle book is a gardening bible. I find it difficult to sit down and read because I always have other needs taking my attention. But I want to read this book. I want to apply the lessons from the book into my new gardening project. Mom is reading to me from the gardening book and we are both interested in the topic. We are both learning in many directions: 1. Mom is learning to read from the iPad and how to turn a page; 2. I am learning about gardening; 3. Mom is learning about gardenting; 4. I am learning how to turn otherwise lost enrichment time into shared learning experiences for me and Mom. By the time the chores are done, we are both satisfied wi...

  From Mom's room I hear her singing, "Jesus bids us shine with with a pure clear light, like a little candle burning in the night, la la la la ..." The la la's then morph into the tune of Yankee Doodle. She pauses to lift up onto her elbow to take a sip of tea. I hear the bed creak as she lays back onto the pillow. This morning the caregiver arrived an hour early, at 7 am. We were still in our early morning routine, that is designed to build Mom's strength for the caregiver to give a shower at 8 am. She had her juice, her dentures weren't in yet and the kettle had boiled but the tea wasn't made. The caregiver was good hearted and sang along with Mom as they went through the sponge bath routine. Mom wasn't strong enough to go into the shower. The caregiver got Mom dressed and brought her out to her recliner chair. After the caregiver departed I could see Mom was kind of slumped over sideways in her chair. With difficulty, we shifted Mom back to her bed...