What I'm up to...

 Apart from not posting here much. I post more regularly on Twitter as @clundoff and on Facebook  because short, spur of the moment things are easier right now. That said, I value the community that I have on DW/LJ and wanted to check back in.

 

So we got my mother moved to a building with a lot more assistance last week. She's got more mobility problems and her dementia is advancing pretty rapidly. The move itself went reasonably well, due to a company called Gentle Transitions that specializes in elder moving. Jana was a rock and has been doing a lot more hands-on care than I have. Unsurprisingly, I'm great at planning and sorting and problem solving. The whole extra nurturing thing, not so much. At any rate, wacky hijinx ensued: Mom went walkabout on Sunday, got lost, got picked up by the police, returned to the wrong building and subsequently rescued by one of the PCAs. Then on Tuesday night, she went out in the middle of night, got confused and tried to get into the wrong apartment. She got belligerent with the staff and security had to intervene to get her back to her apartment. This was described as a "psychotic break" by her doctor, which is a jolly phrase one never wants to hear.

 

With all that comes extra phone calls at work and extra checkin visits. I've had at least one crisis call a day (on top of 3 migraines and day jobbery), and Jana's dropped by twice. I went by again on Saturday with my wonderful pal, Sheila, who really sparkled up Mom's afternoon. But she's declining (though less boisterously than earlier this week), and it's all taking a big toll on us in terms of anxiety, stress and extra work (fortunately, not financially yet). The staff's doing the best they can, we're doing the best we can and it can't be, won't be enough. 

 

What I'm doing to cope: 

1.  Working. Having a day job helps keep me more stable.

2. Trying to write. I'm making progress on a couple of projects and hope to get some subs out the door soon.

3.. Hanging out with the kind of friends who understand the value of distraction  as well as venting. 

4. Going to occasional fun events like catching Jim Jarmusch's vampire flick, "Only Lovers Left Alive," and the Lunafest Women's Film Festival.

5. Reading

6. Sundry small projects, like making nontoxic windshield wiper fluid. 

 

So it goes. I'll try to post here more regularly when I can. On the meantime, sending good thoughts to all of you.