Day Five

Talked to Ann today as I do every day and she is worn out and not feeling all that well.

Ann is having her own pain issues and then she is dealing with all the problems her mother Agnes is having with memory, pain, and injury.

Ann is spending every other night and most days in the hospital with Agnes so Agnes will not feel alone.

Agnes has been in the hospital this time since July 5, 2008 and that is wearing Agnes down as well as the family members (Ann,Kem, Beth,Jackie) who are staying with her and or calling to try and keep Agnes spirits up. Kem was with Agnes for many weeks prior to Agnes going into the hospital this time and is in Phoenix at the moment. Beth is in Tampa and is having her own pain issues and has been checking in but has not been albe to spend as much time with Agnes as she would like due to her job and her own pain problems. Ann and Jackie are there with Agnes in the hospital hoping Agnes will bounce back and be able to go home soon.

Ann, Kem, Beth and Jackie love Agnes and are there to make sure Agnes feels as good as possible and to try and keep Agnes thoughts in the present and not in the past.

Agnes is still in and out with her memory but when family is there she is mostly in and not out but we are not sure how long that will last or how long the family will be able to continue to be with her each and every day and night.

Agnes forgets things easily and that has caused her to fall and hurt herself and that has happened even with folks right there with her. It is hard to try and help when Agnes forgets she needs help.

Life these days is strange and getting stranger but we have to do the best we can for our family.

Military Pictures

Military Pictures at Fort Myer, VA 2007

Big Blue

Big Blue was out and about again today!

Birds?

Has anyone seen the bird that drops these?

Day Four

Ann has been in Alabama for four days now and the news on Agnes is not good. Ann thought Agnes was doing well the first day, but then later on Agens was not remembering how she got to the hospital and thought she was in a hotel room. Ann has had a rough time the entire time she has been there, Ann can not get caught up on her rest and is worn out but also worried about her mother Agnes. Agnes has been in the hospital since July 5th and has not gotten any better. The doctors do not know what is wrong and are not having much luck helping Agnes recover from whatever this is that has her down. Agnes keeps telling everyone she is worn out and wants to die, but she can not explain what is wrong or why she wants to die. Agnes had been having these bouts with depression but we thought she was over them and now they are back and we have not had much luck making life better for Agnes. We hope Agnes bounces back and gets better but Agnes has not shown much in the way of recovering this time...frowns.

Out And About

The drive today took me to Winchester where I had coffee and obtained fuel for my gas buggy.

Along the way I saw many old homes and old places.

Do all old places look alike?

I know I was in one place but I could have sworn the place I was in looked just like so many other places I have been!

US

The Life And Times Of Me
The Life And Times Of Ann
Smiles

Moments and Day Four

Living life in the shadows has its perks but then again it has some limitations when it comes to just living life like everyone else.

Watching TV last night while on the computer I noticed there were several shows on about shadows, Burn notice, NCIS, Generals Daughter, and yes even CIS, they all have some of shadow life in them but they also have a lot of fiction built into them. Wow, if we in the shadows could really do all they show on the TV and Movies....wow!

Guess as we get older life gets more interesting even if the interesting parts are just in our minds...after all this is enigma land for me.

Ann is in Alabama looking after her mother Agnes who is fine one day and lost the next. Agnes has lived such a great life to have all these problems with memory and body at age 86.

Living life can be so complicated at times.

Agnes came from Scotland to England and then to Baltamore in the 1940s where she met an Irish American and married and they traveled the world with the US Army for twenty years or so. Agnes raised four kids in those hard times and then divorced in the ealry 70s never to remarry Agnes then applied for college in her 40s and got her BA and MA in English and taught school for 20 years before retiring. Over the years Agnes save her money for her kids so they would have a better life and invested her money well and ended up with a nice savings for the kids. The kids managed to get Agnes to use some of the money to travel in the last ten years so Agnes was able to get out and about and see the kids who lived in many places about the US. You can check the pictures on opendiary and rememory and find that Agnes managed to swim with the fish, ride in hot air ballons, and fly regulary, move to AZ for several years, then back to her home in AL. Agnes is a fine woman who loved and loves her kids and her life, we just hope she gets better and feels better.

Memory

Agnes is now having memory problems and those memories come and they go.

On My Mind

Ann is always on my mind even when she is in Alabama

Day Two

Day Two
Long day yesterday and a very long night
Ann had no problems getting to Alabama
Agnes is better now that Ann is there
Agnes is not doing all she could to get better
Memories seem better with Agnes
Time seems to have slipped or been lost with Agnes
Ann is having a very hard time dealing with Agnes time loss
Ann is having a tough time getting Agnes to eat
Wish I was there to help Ann and Agnes
Travel, Life, Living requires I be on the job here this time
Not much sleep for me
Not much sleep for Ann
Another day working with Agnes for Ann
Another day at war for me or so it seems
There are times in our life that life is just not all that fun

Ann called today and was so happy Agnes was doing so much better

Ann called back and said Agnes had lapsed and lost all memory of how she got to the hospital

Agnes knew Ann and Jackie, her son but not why she was in the hospital

Life is just not fun at all lately

Code Woman

Ann is in to crossword puzzles, chocolate, and ME...smiling.

Continued Thoughts

The words just would not leave me alone and I had to just sit there and watch the words jump over the dream....smiles

Thoughts

Could not sleep last night and of course I had all sorts of words flying about me keeping me up. Not sure why I had a word attack in the middle of the night or I guess it was all night and all morning....frowns

Chocolate

I like to have dark chocolate in the office for those moments when you just need that little extra boost.

One of Those Days

One of those days...smiling

The Office

Today I found a picture of one of my office book shelves, hard to believe I have junk all over the place, but then again you just never know when you are going to need that long lost guide on how to fix the computer...smiling.

Living life can be fun even at the office.

Day One

Ann left today to head out for Alabama to take care of her mother Agnes.
Ann took the shuttle to Dules, VA.
The shuttle only cost $30.00 and got Ann to Dulles in time for her departure.
Ann and I are clear card members so Ann was able to walk right through the security lines.
As I mentioned we have been traveling alot lately to see and take care of Agnes.
We are doing the long distance caregiver effort as are most of the family.
Agnes has not been well lately and has been in the hospital just about every month this year.
Memories have been fading for Agnes and that has caused her and us alarm.
We are trying to get Agnes a caregiver to assist her on a daily basis.
Agnes saved her money all her life but does not want to spend it on caregivers or assisted living.
The family has been taking turns assiting Agnes since January of 2008.
Not sure how long the family will be able to continue to be the only caregiver for Agnes.
Sad times are upon us now that Agnes is loosing her memories of us and reality.
We have read up on the elderly, caregivers, and assisted living.
Life is just not fun all the time.
Smiling for Agnes and Frowns for Us.

Scrap Moments

Bookopoly

Ann at work having fun with one of her many crossword puzzles.

Police Vehicle

While out and about today I saw this police vehicle on the side of the road and it was a Home Land Security Police vehicle. Who knew they had their own police force, heck we have tons of police forces here in the DC area and yet we still have lots of crime...Why?