Thursday, August 25, 2011

Dancing

Good news is that I heard from MaryLee Lykes, a fun dance teacher, that she can accommodate me with my walker in a line dance class at a senior center near our house.  I tried it out and found I could indeed adapt the steps so I can do the dances with my walker. Line dancing is one of my favorite kinds of dance.  It is nice to be back to it.

The present moment is celebrating.

Friday, August 19, 2011

An Issue

Carol has started going to a support group for caregivers, which is great.  She came home and told me an issue had come up that if the caregiver needs to be taken care of for a period of time (for instance because of a medical issue), the person with Huntington's, depending on how late in the disease he or she is, might not be able to take care of the caregiverWhen you look at the issue long term, it’s hard knowing that the HD person can’t be there for the caregiver in those respects. The lopsidedness of it is difficult. The caregiver spends all this time taking care of someone knowing it likely will not be reciprocated.  I said I was sorry about that.

She later told me she was frustrated that my only response was “sorry.” She did not see that as a conversation about what happens long term, how do we deal with the issue as a couple, how does she deal with the issue in order to take care of herself, because clearly that responsibility will fall on her? And how does she get me to communicate, i.e. have an actual discussion?

In the later conversation I said I was sad about not being able to take care of Carol.  She pointed out she is going to have to have another hip replacement at some point, and will need her friends to take care of her.  This makes it very important she keep up with her friends.

The present moment is sunny.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Good Suggestion

Good Suggestion

As part of the brainstorming at my Care Team, Louise suggested hiring a housekeeper.  Carol and I figured out we could afford to have someone come every two weeks.  Our friend Mary recommended Silly Sisters.  I was remembering there was a Supreme Court nominee who got in trouble for hiring a housekeeper under the table.  This way, Carol can serve.

I gave Carol a steam cleaning of our carpets as a Christmas present.  It took this long to get things organized enough for us to have everything up off the floor.  I hired a guy from the gay business association.  He gave me a discount for that reason.  I said, “Is that the ten percent for the ten percent?”

The house looks nice.

We saw KD Lang at Zoo Tunes.  A fabulous show on a perfect evening.

The present moment is soothing.

Friday, August 5, 2011

New Web Site

    One of the members of my care team, Mel, had experience with a web site a friend off hers had used coordinating volunteer requests, when she was dealing with cancer. She passed the web site information to another member of the group, Alice, who has the computer experience to adapt it for me. Happily, Alice has just retired, so she had time to do that. If you wants access to the web site, you can contact her at alicebloch@comcast.
    I’ve been having trouble coordinating stuffing the chicken breast recipe we like. Carol pointed out I could get chicken tenders and layer them, instead. Smart woman.
    We are going to see the Storm, our women’s basketball team, who Carol turned me on to.
    The present moment is entertaining.