11, 10, 9, 8...

Eight.  That was her assessment for this year.  I took Peggy to USC for her annual review because she is participating in the Alzheimer's research program there.  When I first brought her there she was at 11.  Now she is at 8.  What does that mean?  Well...I think this video represents it very well.  Like it says, 8 turns around upon itself.  So, instead of getting frustrated about not really ever getting anywhere with her, I'm just going to sing this song, one of my favorites from School House Rock.

Remember Me Always

My girlfriend Harlee has created a really neat business helping people create documentaries about families .  I think it's wonderful, and she is too.  This is an awesome resource.  Harlee and I met at pregnancy YOGA, and today we took our little girls to the park.  It's really nice to have someone to share all these life experiences with.  And now she can help me document them!  I am definitely going to hire her to create something special for my family about my Mom, Peggy.   Remember Me Always Video

Deja Vu for Illustration Friday

Illustration Friday is a creative website with a word sent out via the internet for artists to illustrate.  This week it is Deja Vu.  Well, with alzheimer's every moment has a sense of deja vu...

Treats

tangerines from my tree!

The treats aren't always candy.  After a long day in the car I gave Peggy an apple.  A real hard apple, not cut up or baked in a pie but one that you could sink your teeth into. A crunchy delicious one.  You know the kind, you can hear it.  She couldn't stop talking about how good it was.

Once I brought tangerines. That wonderful smell when you start to peel it!  Food it's familiar, it's comforting, it's sensory, it's totally in the moment, just like her.

I gave her a lollipop, my new treat of choice, just like when I used them as my secret weapon with my girls when they were toddlers, when I had just one more errand that I needed to accomplish.  She's from Connecticut and I thought she would love looking at the lobsters and the beautiful displays at Fish King.
Peggy talks a lot to herself and asks everybody what their name is and where they live.    I wheeled her up to a table so I could order and she had her grape lollipop and didn't talk quite so much. :)   Then of course we ate our New England clam chowder, and it was really really creamy and good with real clams!

So dont' get me wrong, we love healthy fresh food but candy is nice too, especially when it is an amazing bar of chocolate like what our friends Bill and Nicole sent us for the holidays from Vosage in peppermint and marzipan.  Hey, it's filled with anti-oxidants right?  And research says that's good for the both of us.

 Here is a great article from the New York Times. Very helpful as I contemplate raising the dose of depacote for my Mom. I always bring treats, for her, for me, for the girls and the caregivers. Makes us all feel better sometimes. The more research outside of the box the better, or in this case inside the box of chocolates.

Giving Alzheimer's Patients Their Way, Even Chocolate