Wednesday, October 28, 2009
A Passage from the Bible
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4) Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5) Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7) Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. 8) Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9) Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10) Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11) Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12) Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you."
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Hay Caramba
Dad took out the dirty dishes from the dishwasher and put them away with the clean ones. Turn your back for one minute... Oh well, he mean't well, now we have to wash ALL the dishes.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
A Thought from the other Jesus:
4) And Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house."
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
C. S Lewis Quote
"It now seemed that...the deepest thirst within him was not adapted to the deepest nature of the world."
George Carlin's Views on Aging
Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.
'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.
You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.
'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life! You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony.YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!
But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling.. What's wrong? What's changed?
You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH
50 and your dreams are gone...
But! wait!! ! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!
So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and make it to 60.
You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!
You get into ! your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'
Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!'
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!
HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3.Keep learning. ! Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever, even ham radio. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's family name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6... The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips.. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.
You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.
'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life! You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony.YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!
But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling.. What's wrong? What's changed?
You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH
50 and your dreams are gone...
But! wait!! ! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!
So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and make it to 60.
You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!
You get into ! your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'
Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!'
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!
HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3.Keep learning. ! Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever, even ham radio. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's family name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6... The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips.. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Very Interesting
In the past week or two, my father has started following me throughout the house. He used to sit in the patio after a bit of gardening -but now he follows me (without saying anything), he sits in a nearby chair to my office, the kitchen, the living room, etc. Yesterday I gave him a coloring book to distract him, but he just picked up the book and followed me into the next room and continued coloring. I hope that it is just a phase. We will soon see. The trouble is that most of his past hobbies do NOT interest him. He has stopped playing dominoes,TV is not for him (except at night). He does enjoy his daily walks, yet he can't walk the dog anymore and he can't walk alone since last year when he kept walking and almost got lost. He does enjoy his pet birds or should I say bird, since the female parrot flew away this past Saturday. I need to get a replacement bird.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Toilet Troubles
Our main bathroom's toilets got really plugged up last week, so I went to work at fixing it. It took me a few hours - but I was able to dislodge whatever had plugged it up. So I was really surprised yesterday when again, it was plugged up.
"Dad, what have you been dumping in the toilet?", I asked - and immediately he responded, "Why, nothing, it must be someone else." - he replied.
But, my Dad also added: "Unless you mean the trash from the trash can in the bathroom." -
Needless to say, after sending a drill pipe down into the deepest part of our primary toilet and fishing out a sock - among other, needless to mention items, once again our toilet was functioning properly.
Such is the world of a caretaker in the terrible world of Alzheimer's. I would cry, but I prefer to laugh.
"Dad, what have you been dumping in the toilet?", I asked - and immediately he responded, "Why, nothing, it must be someone else." - he replied.
But, my Dad also added: "Unless you mean the trash from the trash can in the bathroom." -
Needless to say, after sending a drill pipe down into the deepest part of our primary toilet and fishing out a sock - among other, needless to mention items, once again our toilet was functioning properly.
Such is the world of a caretaker in the terrible world of Alzheimer's. I would cry, but I prefer to laugh.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Kindergarten for Dad
After almost two weeks, I am almost finished with the re-painting of Dad's room and a second room (which was mine when I was a teenager). In its most recent incarnation it was used as a guest room that looked straight out of the 1970's.
My thought after the painting and clearing out of accumulated "stuff" was that I was going to use the second room as either a newer, finer looking guest room or as a small family room (but come on, it is just pop (Jesus) and me (for the most part). So last night (3AM to be exact), I had what can only be defined as a DIVINE INTERVENTION! Why not face this debilitating disease HEAD-ON, yes folks, why not convert the extra bedroom into what will amount as a one-room classroom for Dad, a kindergarten for a senior citizen! I mean actually set it up as a modern classroom.
Homeschooling for seniors!
Why not? The medications that his doctors have been prescribing to him (within what can only be described as an assembly line attitude) have apparently not been working as well as anticipated.
Add to that, that we receive no additional support from our local, state or federal governments; even though my father is a veteran of the Korean War. Most recently, our California governor, stopped most assistance to California seniors. I mean, the paperwork, the red-tape puts me in a mindset that outside of placing him in a nursing home (no way!)I have no other options but to take things into my own hands and be more proactive in fighting the onslaught of this terrible disease HEAD-ON.
My father is in the fickle position that his retirement pension is too high to qualify for any minor assistance programs, but really too low to solicit other options. Adult day care is beyond our capabilities; moreover, even the medical insurance companies do not see us as a family unit (as a household - go figure), because I am the son living with his father, therefore they would charge us two fees as if we were two families living under on roof.
For as much as we pride ourselves about our country, after living this experience first-hand, I say that we do not care about our seniors the way most civilized nations tend to.
Therefore, hopefully I shall be finished with my little home-schooling project later this week, and I am going to read my dad more children's' stories, the alphabet, play games with him that remind him of his name, of family members, remind him of the day of the week (or the current year for that matter), but I do not intend to give up on my father - until I have tried everything humanly possible.
He deserves that in the very least.
My thought after the painting and clearing out of accumulated "stuff" was that I was going to use the second room as either a newer, finer looking guest room or as a small family room (but come on, it is just pop (Jesus) and me (for the most part). So last night (3AM to be exact), I had what can only be defined as a DIVINE INTERVENTION! Why not face this debilitating disease HEAD-ON, yes folks, why not convert the extra bedroom into what will amount as a one-room classroom for Dad, a kindergarten for a senior citizen! I mean actually set it up as a modern classroom.
Homeschooling for seniors!
Why not? The medications that his doctors have been prescribing to him (within what can only be described as an assembly line attitude) have apparently not been working as well as anticipated.
Add to that, that we receive no additional support from our local, state or federal governments; even though my father is a veteran of the Korean War. Most recently, our California governor, stopped most assistance to California seniors. I mean, the paperwork, the red-tape puts me in a mindset that outside of placing him in a nursing home (no way!)I have no other options but to take things into my own hands and be more proactive in fighting the onslaught of this terrible disease HEAD-ON.
My father is in the fickle position that his retirement pension is too high to qualify for any minor assistance programs, but really too low to solicit other options. Adult day care is beyond our capabilities; moreover, even the medical insurance companies do not see us as a family unit (as a household - go figure), because I am the son living with his father, therefore they would charge us two fees as if we were two families living under on roof.
For as much as we pride ourselves about our country, after living this experience first-hand, I say that we do not care about our seniors the way most civilized nations tend to.
Therefore, hopefully I shall be finished with my little home-schooling project later this week, and I am going to read my dad more children's' stories, the alphabet, play games with him that remind him of his name, of family members, remind him of the day of the week (or the current year for that matter), but I do not intend to give up on my father - until I have tried everything humanly possible.
He deserves that in the very least.
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