February

Well, it is February and I realized I haven't posted in here for awhile. Sorry about that everyone! I've had a cold -- and although I have had it for a couple of days it seems like I have had it for weeks. It's the kind of cold where you just want to sleep it off! But, I'm out of the bed today for a little while anyway. I have a Memory Walk Meeting this afternoon so I need to at least get myself cleaned up and out of the house for that. I can rest the next two days!

Our group that is working on the Memory Walk is great -- they are pretty much the same people that worked on it last year. The bad thing is that I hate to commit myself to too much out in the future because I never know how much I'll be able to do in 6 or 9 months time. You want to hope that you'll be able to do everything.....but you just can't count on it. But, since we have so many good people on the committee I know it will go off without a hitch as it did last year.

On the home front my son is still agonizing over law schools and probably will for a few more months. On a lighter note for him, he went to Mardi Gras in New Orleans over the weekend. I guess I need to clarify what "going to Mardi Gras" really meant in his case. One of his roommates works for Delta so they got some cheap air fare to New Orleans. They left on Sunday morning around 9 a.m., stayed up all night and then got on a plane early Monday morning to come back to Atlanta. So, they weren't there for even 24 hours but I guess they got to "experience Mardi Gras" if that is what you call it! I guess it would be nice to be young again and do that. It would take me about a month to get over a trip like that!

On February 14th my son has an audition in Atlanta for the game show Jeopardy. It is something he has always wanted to do -- why not go for it I guess. He's a lot braver than I would be. He thinks that if he can get on the show it will help pay for law school. I would like to think that, too!

A long weekend

The south was hit hard by an ice storm this weekend. We lost our power on and off but there weren't many major power outages in our area which was good. But, it made for a long weekend since it was hard to get out and move around. But, it was beautiful outside looking at the ice on the trees and the streets. I know that might sound kind of strange but it was pretty.

The highlight of my weekend was that my son came home. Luckily he made it home before the ice starting forming. I really enjoy our time together and it is nice that he spares a weekend here and there because he is so busy. I worry alot about when he comes home what changes he sees in me if any. I also worry about the time when he is going to come home and I won't recognize him.....I hope that is a long way away.....but I can't help worry just the same. That's going to become a reality at some point....as hard as that is to think about.

It's been awhile

I know since I have posted here. I haven't quite figured out what I want to write about these days. Alot is going on and then it seems like nothing is going on! I guess after the holidays everything seems to "quiet down", or at least get back to normalcy.

I've started going to the gym on a regular basis and that has gotten me into my routine once again. I realize how easy it is for me to do too much in a days time and I certainly pay the price sometimes. I still get tired rather easily and that is frustrating.

My son is looking at law schools and of course all of them are far away. That has been on my mind a lot -- I know he will make the right decision as to where to go -- he's a smart kid. So far he has been accepted to Stanford, Berkley and Harvard. He is still waiting to hear from others -- I wish it was an easy decision for him but I know it won't be. Of course, mom and dad stress out about it too, but isn't that to be expected!

Frustration

I've been pretty frustrated lately. It goes in spurts thank goodness. I'm forgetting more and more things -- like going to make coffee and I already made it, going shopping and not remembering what I bought, putting clothes away and not knowing where I put them, filing papers away and not being able to find them. It's very frustrating. I feel so stupid when I do stuff like that. My husband's solution is "write everything down" -- but you cannot write every step down you take during the day. We do tend to keep things in the same places all the time which helps but sometimes I just want to scream!!!!

Happy New Year

Hope everyone had a good holiday season. It has been different for me --not working during this time of the year. My son has been home from college for three weeks now and I have gotten to spend a lot of time with him. It's been good -- but different. I'm sure he finds it boring around the house spending it with the parents, but I'm glad he has done it. I have a feeling these days will be few and far between from here on out.

I was reminded this week that 2005 brings some milestones for our family. In April our 25th wedding anniversary comes around, my son will be graduating with his Master's degree in May, my husband is looking at retiring this summer and I will turn 50 in October! I hope my health will keep up with me so I can see all these things happen!

Happy Holidays

To everyone reading this. My friends and family keep me going and that is the best gift a person can have. I love you all.

New York, New York

Our family just returned from a short stay in New York. It was great fun. We got to see some shows and enjoy New York during Christmas. All the Christmas lights made the city sparkle. It was cold -- but we were only there for a few days so we could take it!

It was so nice to spend time as a family. At times, things were a little confusing for me, but I still managed o.k. I realize our "family time" is going to be more and more limited, both in terms of my health and the fact that my son is getting older and won't want to go with his parents on vacation. But so far, he has managed to tag along and tolerate us having our family time.

The best part of all is always the ice skating part. I love to ice skate and my son laced up some skates and skated with me at Rockefeller Center. It was just great. I have always loved to skate and it doesn't matter how cold it is or what the conditions are, I just love to skate. I guess growing up in Illinois helped with that as most Southerners don't seem to appreciate it as much as I do.

We had very little bickering on this trip. Not that we usually have a lot but there always seems to be those times when we argue over where we are going to eat, what we are going to do, how to get there, etc. But, for some reason this trip was good in that regard. It's strange that I think about that -- but I'm glad we didn't have that on this trip.

It was a nice holiday present for me -- time with my family -- that's what I like most.

The holidays

Last week my husband and I went to a one day conference on Alzheimer's in Atlanta. It was really interesting and we got to catch up on the latest news in what is happening with research and the like. But, it was the first time since I retired that I was in a "classroom" situation, listening and having to pay attention. I was amazed at how bad I was at this! I couldn't follow a lot of what was being said and I thought my head was going to explode after a couple of hours. I'm glad I don't have to concentrate for long periods of time anymore!

It's a couple of weeks before Christmas and here in the south it is still quite warm. Our family is going to New York City next week just to "play" and it is suppose to be cold there -- I'm glad of that -- perhaps it will get us into the spirit of Christmas a little more. And, I love to ice skate so I am looking forward to skating in Central Park and at Rockefeller Center. It is so beautiful there with the Christmas tree and everything. I'm glad I will get to enjoy this with my family. That is what the holidays is really about -- spending time with the people you love. And, unfortunately, missing the ones you can't be with.

Thelma and Louise

Several years ago I met a couple of women who are big Kenny Rogers fans. They contacted me when our venue was hosting Kenny Rogers for a two night concert. Their names are not Thelma and Louise but I started calling them that because they have such a zest for life and a little crazy -- I say that affectionately. When I started calling me them that they didn't even know who Thelma and Louise were so they watched the movie and called me and said "But we didn't kill anyone!" -- which is true of course, but they still remind me of Thelma and Louise.

Last night I went to a Kenny Rogers concert with Thelma and Louise in Atlanta. It is my second concert with them. Last night marked their 896th concert of Kenny Rogers -- yes, 896. It is rather amazing -- and they love him more today than they did years ago when they started going to concerts.

Thelma and Louise are sisters and this is their passion (obviously) -- but they are so happy when they are doing it -- I can't imagine being that happy over something you have seen 896 times! But that is what makes life interesting -- those types of people and thank God for them. I love these women -- they have become friends in a short time. I wish I had their enthusiasm for life!

Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. It is amazing how time flies isn't it? My son is coming home tonight and staying for a few days. That always seems to cheer me up. I'm grateful he takes time for his family and always has.

This hasn't been a real good week for me. And, the bad thing is that when I have a bad time, it is very difficult for me to find the right words to tell somebody about it. Usually my husband picks up on it and helps me along but he hasn't been doing that lately -- I think he is just missing the cues. But, I can't tell him about it because I can't find the right words to express myself. Never having had a problem with expressing myself before, this makes it even more difficult to deal with. I guess it goes back to the "aloneness" of Alzheimer's -- you feel so alone because you can't communicate effectively. I guess the upside to that is that if I can't tell anyone that I'm having a problem I'm less of a burden!

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.