Monday Memories With My Mom

The Adventures of Caring for a Mom With Alzheimer's Disease

 

     This is an unplanned post, but I wanted to let everyone know my mom is still content and safe living in the same skilled nursing community she moved to exactly two years ago!!!  This is a recent picture from a visit with my daughter, Kristin (who just turned 16).  I think of this blog often and have good intentions of posting again more often. We still see signs of her sense of humor, and just when we sometimes think she may have forgotten who I am, she calls me by my name.  Recently, the staff took her out on an adventure to Walmart.  Since she used to work there, I know she must have enjoyed being there again!!  Kristin and I gave her another manicure for Mother's Day.  My brother visits often and is very good about taking my mom outside in the fresh air.  I also enjoy taking her outside this time of year as the grounds are very nice at this senior community.

 

 

 

 

 

     Meanwhile, my daughter has finished her freshman year at Michigan State University, my twins are now 16, my son was just selected as a drum major for our high school's marching band, and his twin sister has decided to rejoin the marching band this summer/fall 2016!!!  All three are working this summer as well.  Life is full and busy!!!

    I will share a few more recent pictures of my mom and hope to check in again soon!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

Monday Memories With My Mom

The Adventures of Caring for a Mom With Alzheimer's Disease
     As Thanksgiving nears, there continues to be much to be thankful for!!!  This past year has been one of peace for my mom.  In fact, thanks to the "Timehop" app, I realized it was a year ago today that my mom was hospitalized for a week (you can read more about that HERE).  The good news is that made me realize we have gone a full year without any further hospitalizations.  Also, there have been no significant changes in my mom's health.  She seems content and at peace with her current living situation in the memory care unit of her skilled nursing community.  The staff often shares stories with me on things my mom has said and done and all of them continue to tell me how they love her sense of humor!!!  For this, I am grateful as I think most of you know there were times I was unsure that my mom would make this adjustment.
     With my mom safe, content and at peace, it has also allowed me more time to spend with my kids and family these last few months...

      A visit with my mother-in-law two days before my daughter's high school commencement.  It was sad for me to realize my mom would be unable to attend, as I know she would have loved to.    

May 29, 2015

 

So.....we brought the commencement to my mom by doing a big family photo shoot with my my mom.  She had two grandchildren who both graduated from high school!!

 

 June 28, 2015

 

A visit with the daughters right before Megan (left) headed to Germany for a month.

 

 

June 25, 2015

 

I loved this day as it was my mom's one year anniversary of living at Canterbury on the Lake!!!  (You can see more about her move HERE.)  We had fun as there was also a "Happy Hour" celebration with singing, snacks and smoothies which my mom loved!!!. 

 

 

July 2, 2015

 

Granddaughter Kristin is a natural at caring for my mom. 

In fact, she now works in another assisted living community where she is a server

 in their dining room!!

 

August 17, 2015

 

Jacob was due for a visit!!!  He drove to see Grandma fresh from the Secretary of State office where he had just received his driver's learning permit!!!!  Good news -- we made it!!!!!

 

September 4, 2015

 

My mom was also thrilled to receive a card from her cousin Karen from Muskegon!!!

 

Card from Cousin Karen

 

Sometimes conversation is hard to come by -- so we take a selfie!!!!

 

October 2, 2015

 

...and, I must admit there are times when I very much miss the days when my mom could walk and visit "The Don" as she did when she was living at the American House.

 

 

A recent hair cut.  The "Before" is on the left and the "After the two on the right.  A little shorter than we wanted, but it will work!!!

 

This, my friends, is fresh from this morning's visit. 

I was pleased to see their "morning exercises" and they all seemed to enjoy it!!!

TODAY -- November 16, 2015

 

Complete with Video............

 

 

I will try to be better about sharing as I have received concerned phone calls from many of my mom's friends.  We remain thankful for each day and wish all of you

 a very nice and Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

 

 

 

(Sorta) Silent Sunday

     It's been awhile and life has been busy, but thought I would share that my mom has been doing fairly well and my daughter graduated from high school!!!

Today we visited my mom and Megan put on her cap and gown so I could get this picture. 

     On Wednesday, Megan leaves for Germany for a month and then heads to Michigan State University in the Fall with plans to study Education with a major in German.

     Lots more to blog about, but for now my focus is my family (and sometimes me)...

     Hope all is well with all of you -- I will check in soon!!!     

 

Adding this photo as an afterthought...  Don't really like photos of "me", but grateful that we were able to get this.

 

Monday Memories With My Mom

The Adventures of Caring for a Mom With Alzheimer's Disease
**From the Week of March 9th**
     I had a busy week as my husband went to Charleston, SC on a golf vacation and my kids had an extra busy week with Cinderella musical, golf tryouts, soccer tryouts, music festival, state competition practices, etc...  I finally got over to see my mom....  Our big "meltdown" has been in progress in Michigan this past week, and we really have made significant progress.  However, memories of year's past tell me it's never over for sure until May....  I parked near a sign that cautioned about ice, a piece of sidewalk that seemed to retain water and probably went from freezing to a puddle back and forth depending on the day...  This sign was a nice welcome!?

Once inside, I went in my mom's room to check on things.  I saw this cute little bunny sitting on her nightstand.  Another little collection of stuffed animals has started, much like she accumulated to her assisted living apartments, but not as many.

    Speaking of stuffed animals, I think someone was recently asking about Muffin...  My mom does not seem as attached to Muffin lately.  I have not heard her ask for her in a long time, and when I went to look I found one Muffin in her closet and the other here...

 

 

in the commons area. (Remember, we had two "Muffin" dogs so that if one was lost or in the wash, we would still have one.)   I would like to think that my mom is feeling more secure in her skilled nursing environment in recent months, and, perhaps, she does not "need" Muffin as much.  However, it is possible that she has kind of forgotten about Muffin.  I may see what the staff says about that. 
     I also went and looked by the blankets to see if there was another "fidget quilt".  There was, so I brought it over to my mom and while she was watching the movie, we talked about each item on the quilt.  There was a part of her that wanted to remove that little puppy from the quilt, so if any of you are ever thinking about making a fidget quilt, use strong thread and sew everything down well. 

 

It seems that my mom's love of television is back in full swing.  Many times, especially recently, I see many of the residents sitting near the nurses station by the bird cage, or the sun.  However, my mom was alone down by the television near her bedroom watching Father of the Bride 2.  She was awake...and watching.  She seemed pretty good and even stayed awake for the majority of my visit which was over an hour.  She was having what those familiar with Alzheimer's would call a "good day".  Her sense of humor was intact and when I commented about how funny Steve Martin was, she wholeheartedly agreed. 

While we were sitting, a man in a wheelchair (who can move himself around with his feet) kept stopping by and seemed to be doing "laps" around the floor.  His speed wasn't bad either, so every once in awhile he would stop and say something to us and then he would move on.  My mom was trying to understand him, but we could not and once he left my mom looked at me and shook her head to let me know she thought he was crazy!!??  It may not have been appropriate, but it made me laugh for a second because I knew that was a true reaction from my mom.
     I told my mom about the music competition my kids bands were participating in over the weekend and how both Megan and Jacob had solos during their performances.  She seemed impressed and asked how they did.  I said they did really well and that seemed to make her happy. 
     Then, as the movie was coming to an end, we were watching the scenes where the daughter and the mom both have their babies.  I could tell my mom loved seeing the close ups of the little babies and because one was a boy and one was a girl (like my twins, Jacob and Kristin) I said, look it is like the day Jacob and Kristin were born and we were all at the hospital.  Do you remember that?   She nodded and kept watching.  I could tell she remembered it, and I know it was one of her proudest days.  A minute later she repeated "there's Jacob and Kristin".  After some of the sleep, more quiet visits we've had lately, I felt good about this visit.

     So, although I did not come armed with a photo album as I intended, we did have a nice visit and was thankful my mom was having a "good day". 

Later, when my brother and niece visited, this is what she did when he said "smile"!!??

  She will do anything for a laugh, and she knows the grandkids sometimes think the more "inappropriate" the better....

 

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Monday Memories With My Mom

The Adventures of Caring for a Mom With Alzheimer's Disease
         When I arrived for a visit, I saw that my mom had this little "touch quilt" or "fidget quilt", I have heard them called, on her lap.  This was a small one, but it had a satin piece, a piece of lace, a rough patch, rick rack and a pocket sewn on.  I commented to one of the staff about them, and she showed me they had a few of them.  I am not sure if they are new or just something I've not seen before.  Either way, I was glad to see these as my mom's best friend, Jane, is a big quilter and my mom used to spend lots of time helping her make her quilts.  They would spend weeks in the summer in Northern Michigan buying fabric, piecing, ironing, sewing, and whatever else is involved in quilting.  I know it is a lot of work!!  They also had a tradition of attending a "quilt auction" every summer which I have also attended.  So, I have to think that this small touch quilt may have triggered some fond memories for my mom.

 

Especially when I looked close and saw the little details on the yellow fabric.  I commented to my mom that it was a lot like when she and Jane used to work on quilts.  My mom agreed.

 

 

     I like the idea of these fidget quilts.  I know for awhile we had kind of a "busy box" in my mom's old apartment.  Just a tin filled with odds and ends for her to rifle through and "fidget" with.  However, in this shared nursing environment, keeping track of the contents would be difficult.  That is why the idea of these various items and textures sewn on the quilt is appealing.  I found several examples of cute fidget quilts on the internet.  I believe there are some groups out there making these for Alzheimer's and dementia patients.  I like the idea of using some scraps of fabric and sewing notions and putting them together for something like this.  Helps beat the boredom and stimulates the senses and possibly some memories among other things.  Perhaps when I am retired, I can pay it forward and make some of these.  Seems like I may be able to handle it.  The only sewing machine I have is my mom's which is very old and very basic.  It is also still at my mom's condo.  It's also the only sewing machine I (used to) know how to work!!?  Hmmmm...  Clean the house, or start sewing!?

Photo Credit www.smokeybarn.com

    I think I really need to consider adjusting my schedule.  As I've mentioned before, it seems my best time to visit my mom always falls in the "after lunch" hours a/k/a "sleepy time".  I'm not sure when might be a better time to visit as the evenings I'm usually tied up with my kids.  I could try something around 10:00 am and see what happens, but there is almost always an activity scheduled at that time.  If I arrive too early it is shower, getting dressed and breakfast time, activity, lunch, nap, activity, nap, dinner...  I don't know.  Maybe my best bet is just being able to go outside and getting some fresh air, which hopefully will come sooner than later.  They also seem to keep the heat close to 80 degrees, so who wouldn't fall asleep -- makes me want to fall asleep, too!!! 

     Although the activity calendar is full, and I was told that earlier my mom had been watching Sound of Music in honor of the movie's 50th anniversary...

 

    

     I had a hard time getting much more than this out of the crowd...  I will hope for a more meaningful visit next time.  I will say I would rather find the residents sleeping in chairs than in bed all day.  They do have a routine there, and perhaps my mom is "too busy" for me!!??  Maybe the morning Sound of Music party got a little crazy and wiped everyone out.  I think I better think of some kind of entertainment to bring along next time I visit, perhaps some photos.  Either way, I know she appreciates my visits, and I remind myself that she is warm, safe and loved.

 



Sleepy, Sleepy, Sleepy and Sleepy...

 

 

 

 

Monday Memories With My Mom

The Adventures of Caring for a Mom With Alzheimer's Disease
    This week I was glad to see my mom seeming a little more like herself.  In fairness, I really think you have to take into consideration the long winter, the people and struggles she sees and experiences on a daily basis, and the fact that she has not been outside in months.  A definite recipe for some SAD (seasonal affective disorder). 
     I knew I wanted to get my mom's hair trimmed, so I made a last minute appointment at the salon in the building.  It seems to primarily cater to the "assisted living" part of the community, but I'm not sure what my other options really are and for now, it's okay.  You can probably barely tell her hair is trimmed, but I can. 

 

     Coincidentally, my brother sent me a text about ten minutes before I was going to head over to my mom's to tell me that he was also headed there.  He had the day off, but it was rare for him to go in the morning and even less common for both of us to be there at the same time (typically we try to spread the love by staggering our visits).  We had a chance to chat a bit while my mom was getting her hair styled and then we went down to the "Pub" area and he shared some of his recent Florida vacation photos with my mom.

     I have noticed this before, but my mom seems to enjoy listening to me and my brother talk.  She rarely has much to add, but once in awhile she does.  It's hard because I feel like we are ignoring her, but really it's just difficult for her to engage in the conversation, and she does seem to enjoy hearing about the things that she is able to understand.  (I just realized how my brother looks so tan next to my mom!)

 

     Recently, one of my mom's cousins contacted me to see how my mom was doing.  I do my best to keep her friends posted, but it is mainly through this blog.  I realized early on that I would not be able to keep in touch with everyone on her behalf the way she used to.  This cousin lives in northern Michigan and told me about some of the good memories she has shared with my mom through the years.  In the past, my mom has always been the bridge between me and her cousins, so without her being able to keep in touch with and make those more distant connections it can be difficult.  Her cousin, Karen, also fell victim to the "returned mail" problem that seems to be intermittently occurring at the senior living community.  I did try to contact the post office about it, and was told the right person would call me back.  Never did.  One of life's little frustrations!!  So, I hand delivered three cards to my mom from Karen that she sent to me.  My mom definitely remembered her cousin Karen and her husband and enjoyed the cards and the messages made her smile!!

 

     After the hair appointment, my brother had to leave, but I had planned to stay with my mom and read through the cards for awhile. 

     Not long after, it was time for her lunch.  It has been awhile since I have sat with her at lunchtime as I know I am a distraction.  To say she can be easily distracted is an understatement.  She is very interested in watching everyone else and not as interested in eating as I would like.  Most days, the staff prompts her and many of the others, but when I am there I do the prompting.  They asked her if she wanted chicken or macaroni and cheese.  She said macaroni and cheese.  Her plate had the mac and cheese, peas and a dinner roll which they buttered for her.  I thought she would dive right into the mac and cheese, but instead she went straight for the peas (which I didn't even know she liked).  The process was painstakingly slow and to say it was a miracle that the peas didn't fall off her fork would be an understatement.  I prompted her numerous times throughout her meal.  Although it was excruciatingly slow, I am grateful she does still eat and is able to feed herself.  Many of the residents barely eat at all despite the CNAs best efforts and "tricks" to get them to.  Oh, and a nice piece of spice cake was placed on the table out of my mom's reach.  Once I was convinced she had eaten all she was going to eat I gave her the cake.  Hmmmm, she was able to eat the cake at a much quicker pace!!!  Thank goodness for sweets and my mom's love of them!!

     As another side note, you may recall that I've been on quite the "Still Alice" movie bandwagon.  You can read more about that here.  As an update, I am absolutely thrilled to tell you the movie is now showing at the majority of my local theatres (check your local listings!).  It must have gotten picked up after the Academy Awards and perhaps thanks to Julianne Moore's Best Actress win!!!!  I immediately declared a Saturday morning matinee field trip to the theatre, this time with my husband and kids.  I just really wanted them to see it even though they have perhaps more real life experience with it than perhaps many people.  Jacob kept asking, "is it going to be sad"?  All I can say is it's realistic, despite only having the time to show a fraction of what living with Alzheimer's Disease is like. 

I am relieved the movie has finally made it to the local theatres, and am glad I had the opportunity to see it with my family!! 

 

 

 

Monday Memories With My Mom

The Adventures of Caring for a Mom With Alzheimer's Disease

 

      As a quick follow up and update to last week's post, I am happy to say that the Oscar for Best Actress went to Julianne Moore for the movie "Still Alice".  I am happy that I can actually name a few things that have recently raised public awareness to Alzheimer's Disease.  One is the movie "Still Alice" and all of the buzz it brought on the talk show circuit when Julianne Moore, Kristen Stewart and others did a press junket, two is the Oscar win, anther is Glen Campbell's recent Grammy win of the song he wrote before his Alzheimer's got worse which is "I'm Not Going to Miss You".  That song was nominated for an Oscar last night and performed by Tim McGraw since Glen Campbell is at a stage in the illness where he can no longer perform.  By the way, major tear jerker of a song, at least for me!!  I hope these videos from YouTube work.  One is performed by Glen Campbell and the other Tim McGraw.  I like them both...Glen Campbell because he wrote it and is singing this while struggling with the disease, Tim McGraw because...he's incredibly HOT!!!!

 

Video Credit Vevo via YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8TsAh-zYFI

 

 

Video Credit Talent Voice via YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISaq-G1QsSM

     One more recent thing was that Leeza Gibbons recently won Celebrity Apprentice where she earned a total of $390,000 for her charity Leeza's Care Connection which she started in honor of her mother. Hopefully, once Still Alice is released on DVD in the Spring there will be yet more awareness and discussion.  You have to understand that Alzheimer's is a very isolating disease that many don't want to talk about and for the most part the person struggling with the disease is literally unable to advocate for themselves.  So, I am pleased that some people who are able to bring public awareness are doing so.
     Moving on, those of you who follow me on Instagram may be aware that my kids were on Winter Break from school last week.  I took the three of them out to lunch at Panera one day and then we all headed over to visit with my mom.  She was seated near the nurse's station which is just off the elevator.  As there is no real place for five of us to visit without being in the way, the kids took Grandma down to the seating area near her room.  Grandma was pretty quiet, but seemed glad to see the kids.  Generally, I don't think it's the best idea for the whole family to visit at once as I think it's a bit overwhelming for her.  My mom was again pretty subdued.   I have not seen as much of her sense of humor in the last few visits as I would like.  Sadly, much like our Christmas visit, she was unable to recall any of my kids names, although when pressed she did think Kristin was Megan.  Close, but it does break my heart and you can see that the kids are not shocked, but a bit disappointed.  I am not completely convinced my mom still might have a day when she knows, but for the most part it saddens me to realize that even when prompted she was not able to come up with "Kristin Mary".  Kristin has her grandma's middle name and up until a couple of years ago my mom would tell anyone who would listen that her granddaughter was "Kristin Mary".  In fact, all of my kids have a part of my mom's name in their name.   So far, she always knows who I am.
     Not long after we arrived, the kids went to look for the resident cats.  They found out they are no longer there.  As of now, I am not sure what that means, whether they were moved to another floor or moved out of the building!?  Funny enough, in their search for the cats they came back to report there was a dog!!  Soon after, that cute Golden Retriever was heading our way and came to visit us and Grandma.  We learned his name was "Gunner" and he was very friendly.  I gave him lots of loving and so did the kids.  We have a Goldendoodle dog named Lucky, so we love dogs!!  My mom apparently has met Gunner several times before.  I asked her if she wanted to pet him and she said "when he settles down".  Ha!  Good luck with that!  With me and my three kids around we weren't exactly good for settling him down.  He wasn't jumping or anything, just happy to see us!!  My mom was also not thrilled when Gunner's wet nose rubbed against her hand!!  Clearly, grandma was not as interested in Gunner as we were.

 

     I got my mom "Muffin" from her room, and she was happy with that.  I noticed Gunner's owner was talking to the family of the new resident across from my mom's room.  I couldn't help but overhear them say that she had moved from the second floor to the third.  That is what my mom did.

     We also talked to the activities director, Linda, and she told us they were going to be doing some trivia for President's Day.  She and several others also thanked me for the Valentine's gifts I left for them the week before. 

     In the picture below, Grandma was trying to get Jacob to let her give him a kiss on the cheek!!!  I think because there were too many people around,  Jacob played hard to get and was teasing his Grandma!  He knows that once Grandma "gets him" she might not let go!

     I also managed a quick picture with the girls before we left.  I was glad to see an activity would soon be starting, and I noticed that the floor seems pretty active again with residents. 

 

''

 

     As a side note, I follow the Alzheimer's Association on Facebook and this past week they asked that people post a picture of their loved one to be posted in their "gallery" in honor of the Oscars and the movie "Still Alice" and using the hashtags "MyBrain" "Still_____", etc.  Well, since I had just seen the movie and posted about it last week, I figured  it was meant to be so I took part in that one.  The picture below is a glimpse of the gallery of pictures that has formed with hundreds or thousands of pictures.  I do love that part of social media that connects people like that.

     This week I will pay another visit to my mom and hope for warmer temperatures and days ahead where we can go back outside like we did on this lovely Fall day!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday Memories WIth My Mom

The Adventures of Caring for a Mom With Alzheimer's Disease

     With regular temps at -15 F here in Michigan, I am hanging out at home on Sunday and taking the time to prepare this post ahead of time -- I refuse to go out in this freezing weather if I don't absolutely have to!! 

     I mentioned in my post last week I would talk about "Still Alice" this week.  The Oscars are this Sunday, February 22nd.  I read the book "Still Alice" by Lisa Genova  while I was vacationing in sunny Arizona four years ago, and it was a quick read and a good book.  I was excited to learn they were making the book into a movie and that Julianne Moore would be playing the part of Alice.  Even more exciting, Julianne Moore has been nominated "Best Actress" for her role in the movie.  The prospect of this movie bringing awareness to everyone's local theatre was kind of exciting to me as I thought this was a good way for the general public to get a glimpse of the experience.  To "know" someone struggling with this disease is not enough...  I say live with the person for a week, shadowing them 24/7, alone, and then you will "know".

 

     I noticed Julianne Moore was making the rounds on the talk show circuit for the last couple of months.  I Googled and tracked the "release dates" for the movie the last couple of months.  There were several release dates, some in December which is when she won the Critic's Choice Award for Best Actress.  I noticed January 16th and February 6th were also listed as release dates.  I soon learned that the January release dates were small releases in "select cities" such as New York and L.A.  Then I learned that "nationwide" release was February 6th.  By February 6th, I was more than ready to go see the movie,  but could not locate it any of my large and local theatres.  Ugh!  Finally, with more Googling I found two theatres in the State of Michigan showing the movie.  One was about 30 minutes away and was showing the movie for only a week, the other was about two hours away.  This theatre is known for showing more "artsy" type movies.  To be honest, I was sooooo disappointed to realize that after finally getting this movie made, and even with big names (Alec Baldwin and Kristen Stewart also play supporting roles) it was not more widely released.  I went to the first show on a Monday morning.  At first I thought there would be about ten people, but I was glad to see the theatre gradually fill almost to capacity.  I thought the movie was quite good, and I noticed not one person got up during the movie.  I don't know if it was the type of audience, or that we all didn't want to miss anything.   
      I found it ironic that the struggles and research I had to do just to find this movie -- well it sure was reminiscent of the struggles caregivers and those affected with Alzheimer's Disease go through on a daily basis.  What should be or seems like a simple thing can become complicated.  It's too bad the movie was not picked up by more theatres, but I expect an April 2015 DVD release date and I hope some of you will put it on your list of movies to see.  Okay, now I'll get off my "Still Alice" bandwagon and go back to "Still Mom".

 

      When I visited, there they were again -- watching a soap opera.  My mom and the same "friend" from last week.  Quietly sitting.  My mom was giving me some "dirty looks" and I quickly noticed she was a bit crabby.  I asked her if she was feeling okay and she said she was.  She also seemed a bit tired, but managed to stay awake. 

       

 

     While I was there, a young volunteer was going around saying "hello" to the residents and she gave my mom this Valentine card. 

 

 

    I took her to a nearby table and asked if I could do her nails.  She questioned me on if I "knew how" and would do "a good job".  I assured her I did and would!!  I've been trimming her nails every few weeks, as I've noticed this is not a level of care that is "included" in her living there.  I believe there is someone from the beauty salon you can pay to come around and give manicures.  So far, I'm fine with just occasionally doing it myself, but I may try that service at some point. 

 

     You may recall, Kristin used to paint her Grandma's nails quite a bit when she was in her assisted living community.  Then, after awhile, my mom said she didn't want nail polish on them anymore.  So, we let it go for a bit.  However, I felt a nice neutral pinkish color would be a nice Valentine's Day treat from me!  I did have to remind her to let her hands dry before she fussed with her clothes or got "Muffin" back.  I was happy with how they turned out!

 

     I noticed a new resident seems to have moved into the room across the hall from my mom.  I said hello to the family caregiver who seemed to be there helping to get the resident situated.  I know these beds are in demand and don't expect any of them to be empty for more than a couple of days.  Some residents moving from other floors as my mom did, or just moving in for the first time.

     My mom remained quiet and her friend came over and tried to say something to me, but the words don't really come out or make sense so I just smile and say "you look nice today".  My mom was also saying some things that I couldn't make too much sense of.  At one point, she took my hand and squeezed it really hard and said something about something....and that I "hurt her feelings".  Sadly, I have no idea what she was talking about so I just said I was sorry and that I didn't mean to hurt her feelings.  She still seemed a bit mad.  It bothered me, but I was able to brush it off.  There was a time when something like that would have really bothered me.  Now, it mainly just bothers me because I realize she is having a bad day and want to make sure she isn't in any kind of pain or having any issues.  If she's the same on the next visit, I will be talking to the staff about it.  For now, I will assume she was having a bad day, tired, and so I eventually left her to rest with Muffin. 

 

     Speaking of the staff, I brought some gifts over to "spread some love" from me and my mom for Valentine's Day.  I also left a few things for the girls on the second shift whom I don't see as often.  Just a little something to let them know how much I appreciate what they do!!

 

 

     My brother is down in sunny Key West, Florida with his son on vacation, so I will try to visit my mom a bit more this week if I can!  I have to admit, after being sick for three weeks as I was, I'm a little shy about "over" visiting my mom's health care community during this flu season.  I use the hand sanitizer they provide like crazy!!!  I'm sure we will all feel better when we see some signs of Spring -- hopefully before we know it!!!!