Alzheimer's Blogging:

My grandma is 99yrs young. I have wonderful memories of her growing up and I hate the idea of her being old. When I was a child grandma and grandpa had a dairy farm. Grandpa use to spray milk in out mouth straight from the cow. I use to help grandpa gather the cows and milk the cows and clean the manure in the barn. I use to help grandma plant seeds in her vegetable garden, snap the peas for a meal, and bake bread. I grew up gathering up the eggs from the chicken coop. Our food came from the farm. Grandpa use to kill the deer and cows for our meat, milk the cows for our milk, fetch the eggs from the chicken, can vegetables from our garden, and make jellies and jams from the strawberries and raspberries that grew in the garden. It would be a treat to go to town and for a bag of chips. There was always dogs and cats running around.

It breaks my heart that my kids can never experience what I did growing up. And it breaks my that my grandma is finally 99 yrs old and finally getting confused. She asks me over and over again the same questions now. She can't seem to remember where the bathroom is or the bedroom that she stays in at my house. Yet she can remember my kids names. I hope and pray that I do have her mind when I am her age.

Today we went to the White Tank Mountains and went for a hike. Yea, a hike. I did get a wheel chair for grandma. She started walking pushing the chair, than I pushed it and she held on to her daughters arm. And finally she sat in the chair. We didn't go as far as I would have liked to. I forget that she is not as young as I am and not as adventurous, but we went a little ways before she asked if we could go back and she enjoyed the view.

Today did make me think that I need to do what ever adventures I want the next few years, before my body won't let me. I keep forgetting myself that I am getting older. I watched my Aunt Peg who is ten years older than me, and she was getting winded early. Ouch. I never even thought about not being able to hike or anything like that.

So today was a good day. God gave me the chance to be with my grandma another day. Plus I will get to take a five generation picture this weekend. Imagine that. Take care of your self and your loved one. Enjoy the gift of life that you were given today.

Sincerely,
Marie Fostino
Alzheimer's A Caretakers Journal
Seaboard Press An Imprint Of James A Rock Pub., Co.
www.mariefostino.com
www.mariefostino.blogspot.com