Mom & Me Four Archive

    We finally made it to Bashford Court today, specifically to the Christmas store, but to the other two gift shops as well. I'd forgotten that the back entrance isn't made for people using mobility assistance devices but there were no parking spaces in front and walking around from back to front would have been such a climb (Prescott is unusually hilly downtown) and effort for Mom that the actual visit wouldn't have been much fun. So, we braved a four step staircase and a small curb step and everything seemed to go fine. People coming in and out around us gave us plenty of leeway. One man even helped Mom in exactly the way I normally help her up steps.
    Unfortunately, even the Christmas store wasn't displaying for Christmas, yet, except their usual frontage Christmas trees with odd ornaments. These are the ones I like best, but my mother prefers the really Christmassy things. She wasn't disappointed, though. All the stores were full of Halloween stuff and, having a daughter who was born on Halloween (me), she absolutely loves these displays, so we had a lot of fun, got some good exercise, and even picked up some special cards and some beautiful cloisonne bird ornaments for our small, fiber optic tree. Mom got a lot of exercise, too, without complaint and without needing a nap longer than usual. Although Sunday tired her out so much that she spent most of yesterday sleeping, it seems that her muscles used yesterday to incorporate all the work and today she was in tip-top form. Tomorrow we're going to mow the yard, trim back some of our wild brush and plant bulbs for spring. She'll supervise, although I'm going to encourage her to do some walkering in the yard by pointing out some of the surprises our yard has produced since the prodigious monsoon rain, once I get the grass cut to the place where she can see them.
    I've spent the last few days' free time reading through Monday's with Mother: An Alzheimer's Story. I don't know if you noticed, but I added it to my outgoing links section over there to the right some days ago when I mentioned it as a part of talking about the Goldman Mature Market Report and the comment I left on the article about Anne's website. As you know, I don't add links unless I've read through the entire journal, so that I can write a credible blurb. It took me awhile to get through it, not because of it's length, but because of the busy days Mom and I have had and the call of other activities. I recommend this journal because it is written by a spiritual professional, which is different, and because it begins with, and is about, her mother moving to an assisted living facility. The facility itself sounds like an excellent one; not an Eden Alternative or Green House Project facility, but only a few minor steps below such facilities and well above the norm. It doesn't even sound like there is the typical "400% per year staff turnover rate". I can't remember where I read that, but I will never forget that statistic. Aside from being impressed by the author's honesty about her feelings and observations, one of the things I enjoy about this journal is its description of the residents of her mother's community, how they get along, the relationships among the community members and the doings at the facility. I can imagine that Anne's journal can go a long way toward familiarizing families who are considering facility placement for their loved ones with what really goes on and allaying some of the initial fright and grief over such a placement, especially if they are able to secure placement in a facility at least as well managed and planned as this one. It gives an interesting perspective on what people actually do in a facility (a really good one, anyway) once they are placed there, and how staff responds to community members. I know that quite a few of you who read me are probably already regular readers of Anne's journal. If you're not, though, and you are considering facility care for a loved one who has been diagnosed with progressive Alzheimer's or some other type of dementia that is rendering home care impossible for you, take a look at what Anne's journal describes. As seems to be usual in the caregiver journaling community, this journal is also highly literate and deeply thoughtful.
    Yes, I still have a list of backed up posts and, no, I'm not going to do anything about that list tonight. Just wanted to report in and say that things are going well. I hope to be back sooner than...
    ...later.