We rallied

Happy Birthday Nana

Birthday Post

I was waiting for this day, Peggy's birthday to do a big post about the Alzheimer's Walk, and how we raised over $5,000 over the past few years.  Getting a team together and writing everything in purple with easy links. What a wonderful way to celebrate her birthday. Upbeat, positive, showing gratitude and hope.

But, I don't feel like it.

I don't want to walk, I don't want to ask for money.  I feel hopeless.  I don't understand why it's people like us, in the front lines that have to do all the asking.   I don't want to fight, I don't want to beg, I don't want to celebrate.  Maybe tomorrow.

Being Together- David's visit

David, Lois, Sharyl, Ashley, Peggy and Christopher

Here we are, this is us.  David came out to visit with his family.  They visited Peggy everyday, and played with us too.  We went to dinner, we talked about things, we laughed with the kids and we wondered when it would be over.  Will this be his last time visiting her?  How long has she been out here?  4 years?  It doesn't really matter, because here we are and because of her, we are together.  The cousins get to play together, and instead of taking her out with us like we used to, we go out together.  Thankful for her and her life and that she brought us together and because of her we make an effort to stay close and bring our kids up, they way she brought us up.  So we tell her what grade the kids are in, tell her jokes and Ashley shows off her cartwheels.  We want to believe that she knows that,  even though we want it to end, we don't want her to.

cousins

After Studio LOL

Before Studio LOL

Ashley doing Kartwheels for Nana

"Mom, are you ever going to get Alzheimer's?"

Gidget asked me in the car on the way home from visiting Peggy. "No, honey I'm not."I said.
  "If I do, I don't want you to have to take care of me." "We will!" they shouted.

It's not about me anymore, or Peggy, it's about my kids.  My beautiful, healthy, sensitive kids.  

Sunny's bio in her camp play 

Her Playlist

I knew music was good for Peggy.  We bought her an ipod a while ago and uploaded all kinds of music on it.  Piano, soothing, lively contemporary, Frank Sinatra, the Beatles, 50's, classical shufflling around for her when she was in her room.

Then I saw this wonderful video that I posted previously about music of this man's era. Check out this cool movie, Alive Inside.

I needed the music that was still in her, not what was on our playlist.   We didn't have a lot of music in my house growing up.  She has lived a long time. What is her genre? I asked myself as I scanned the itunes playlists.  She loves row row row your boat...what genre is that?  What label?  Who the heck sang it first?
It took me way too long to figure out how to get rid of all the apps, and old playlists and the confusing things, like clouds and share and twitter, to make her new playlist which made me come to the conclusion that this must be why we get Alzheimer's, our brains are all mucked up from the years of input until finally all the wires get overloaded and what's left are a few little notes...row row row your boat.  Just try and say that without singing it's tune, or this one, Twinkle twinkle little star...

So, along with a new playlist from the 40's Gidget and I recorded this, and she smiled and mouthed the words.

(original) Man In Nursing Home Reacts To Hearing Music From His Era