Mom's Refrain (or "SSDD")

I wrote a poem the other morning about the things I hear day in and day out.  Here it is:

Can't find my keys, lost my purse.

Sure is hot, but cold is worse.

My kids are thieves when they're not drunk,

They steal my stuff and move my junk.

The pills don't help, my words won't come.

Can't sleep at night, my brain is numb.

I think there's someone on the stairs.

My flashlight shows there's no one there.

And I don't have any money.

Learning Curves

Each day a new beginning . . .

So, on Tuesday, I visited the local senior center to see what sorts of activities they might be able to offer me and mom.  They have a beautiful new facility with exercise machines and a lunch room, a craft room, computer room, classes to take in each of these, and home cooked lunches daily for only $2.  It doesn't cost anything to register either!  What a great thing, I thought!  So, I brought the mombat down with me that afternoon and got us both registered and signed us up for Wednesday lunch.  I made sure mom was up for accompanyng me to exercise class and lunch the next day, and she appeared to be ok with it.  WELL . . .

She came with me all right, but instead of joining me and the other three people for some stretching exercises, she sat stoically in a chair against the wall with a frown on her face, refusing to join in.  After about 20 minutes, the set ended, and I went to sit next to her to ask if she would join in on the next set.  She said, "I refuse to participate in this, I get enough exercise with my walking and housework.  You need to take me home and then you need to leave me alone!"  On the way home, she turned to me and said, "I think I've earned the right to sit in my own house in front of the TV if I want to."  I agreed that she had, dropped her off, and went to Wal-Mart and bought a rake.  I worked off my frustration by cleaning up my yard. 

I think maybe mom has been a little overwhelmed with all the attention she's been getting from me and from my brother and sister-in-law.  Once school starts, Tom and Julie will be going back to work though, and won't be around as much.  Mike (other brother) will be returning from a job in CA at the end of August, and I hope he'll do some back fill for me.  I learned at the Center that an Alzheimer's support group meets once a month on Monday evenings, and I plan to get involved there. 

My learning curve is a big one.  I think it's in direct proportion to mom's forgetting curve.  YIKES!!!