TheRealTamara

No aide

I take my respite seriously. I’ll admit sometimes too seriously. Time away from the unusual thinking fostered by LBD is my golden ticket to staying sane. Or so I fervently believe. I take that time each weekday. On the weekends, we have help so I can have less hands on with the care. All ofContinue reading “No aide”

Conjuring Dickens

Not only is Burt emotional (as documented here before), but he is capable of having a multitude of conflicting feelings at once. It was the best. It was the worst. All on one occasion. He has no filter, so he isn’t shy about letting me have it. Nor in the least non-plussed at sharing aContinue reading “Conjuring Dickens”

DTA. E.T.A.

Soon, we switch the clocks. Not soon as imminently but more in the context that Christmas decorations will go up before the Thanksgiving leftovers fill our freezers. Musing over the time change is a teary event for me. Time is a touchy topic when your loved one has lost all sense of it. Also, changingContinue reading “DTA. E.T.A.”

Help is on the way

As a caregiver, it’s easy (and way too common) to feel alone on the journey. In many ways, we are. The idea that no one is coming to our rescue when we are in the throes of a Lewy episode; the feeling that the worst moments are the ones only we can handle is provocative.Continue reading “Help is on the way”

Burt says

Marriage is hard. First, you have to love the person and then it’s a lot of work. Burt advises some “friends.” His conclusion is that all “those 30 people over there” will think twice about getting married. He was having a lucid, although clearly not hallucination-free, morning. I value the days when he knows whoContinue reading “Burt says”

Going home

It’s a mystery to most of us, but come sundown or thereabouts our pwd will fervently express a desire to “go home.” Oh, honey, good news we’re here. Burt’s response “I’ll take your word for it.” Yes, we don’t have to travel or anything. There are other occasions when he’s eager to go home. AsContinue reading “Going home”

Redirect

I think I know why it’s so difficult to redirect Burt. This may apply to your loved one as well, though I have heard rumors of pwds being easily put on an alternate path. My guy looked so puzzled when I tried to change course. I believe it has to do with how slowly heContinue reading “Redirect”

Superstitious

I am not a believer. I am an atheist. Without a religious allegiance or a belief in a god or an afterlife, you would think I would be free from all other superstitions. In fact, I inherited much of my magical thinking from my mother. She, too, disdained religion, but lord she had a worldContinue reading “Superstitious”

Easy

Burt has a susceptibility to falling in love. I have mentioned it before. This morning, I noticed a new criterion; [the first is that the “girls” treat him well or ‘are nice to me’ as he puts it]. “We met when you brought me breakfast,” he says. Since we had had so many issues withContinue reading “Easy”

The question of sleep

people who wear sleep trackers on a “perfectionistic quest for the ideal sleep” actually have their sleep become worse. If that sounds like you, it might be time to take a step back. “Sleep is a passive process,” one doctor told Kate. “It is to be protected, not forced — or ‘maximized.’” In short, windingContinue reading “The question of sleep”