Battling Alzheimer

Okay, so let’s finish this conversation.

Like I said the other day, if you want to see anyone on the caregiving spectrum from a teenager to an adult child blush-talk about their loved one’s sex life.

I mean, I am grown, have children of my own and have literally written the book on teen sexuality (Straight Talk, How Teens Make Wise decisions About Love and Sex, Review and Herald, 2000). Yet, I just can’t imagine my mom and dad uh…..er…..um….. well, you know…having (whisper) sex. And furthermore, I really wouldn’t want to have to make decisions about their sex lives, especially when they were in their golden years and one of them had already died - because that would mean that one of my parents was having sex with someone other than my other parent.

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If you want to make a teenager or young adult blush, mention their parents having sex.

Let’s face it, there aren’t very many “children” be they teens, young adults, baby boomers or elderly who want to talk about their parents (aunts, uncles, grandparents) um….er……uh sex life.

Now, toss in dementia affecting one or both of the parties, and now you’ve really got something to talk about or not talk about.

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When I was in the throws of my caregiving responsibilities, or should I say, when I was thrown into caregiving, either way….I loved being around people who made me smile and there was nothing better than a good, full out belly laugh. They were few and far between, but they were so much appreciated.

Snopes.com has debunked the old addage that it takes 33 muscles to frown and 13 to smile. I’ve heard the saying with various numbers and physiologically, it may not be true, but one thing is for sure. It definitely feels better (and is better for your health) to smile and think positively than it is to walk around blue and depressed.

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It’s Thursday, that means it’s time for a Recipe for LIFE. one that is simple to prepare, inexpensive and healthy.

In honor of summer, I’m giving you a salad recipe. I made it over the weekend and it was a big hit at the Father’s Day Picnic I attended. It meets the criteria of being healthy. The ingredients are fairly inexpensive and its pretty easy. Not quite as easy as tossing everything in a crockpot, but it’s still pretty simple.

Ingredients: More →

Your kitchen is safe, uncluttered and organized. Now, let’s turn our attention to maximizing your time and efforts so that you can actually spend less time in the kitchen and get more done in other areas.

I don’t know about you, but mealtimes can be very stressful for me. The very thought of figuring out what to make for breakfast, lunch and dinner 7 days a week drives me crazy, but only when I am not prepared.

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Now, that your kitchen is safe, let’s get to the business of getting organized for maximum effectiveness.

Note: Caregivers who are responsible for meal preparation, sometimes feel as if they spend all day in the kitchen. An unorganized, cluttered kitchen can cause the calmest person to feel stress. Add in caregiving for a person with Alzheimer’s disease and and a disorganized kitchen can just about make you crazy.

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So, are you getting control of your clutter? How’s the organization coming along? Here’s what we’ve covered so far.

Why Get Organized?

General Organization 101

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I am interrupting my series of posts on organization to share this important information from the Alzheimer’s Association. My hope is that it will help to put things into perspective as you battle the (now growing) monster, Alzheimer’s disease.

Dear Loretta,

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Writing this series of organization posts has been most helpful to me. I have taken my own advice and am really getting my clutter under control. My bedroom definitely needs some help though. If yours does too, then this post is for you.

I ran across a couple of sites that had some great information with regards to bedroom organization. In addition, I have a few tips of my own and I’ll also give you a “caregivers take” on bedroom organization.

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My excuse is that I need more closet space. Be it the kitchen, hallway, spare room or my bedroom, I just don’t have enough closet space. Of course, the problem with that argument is that I know people with half the space I have and somehow they manage to be much more organized than I am.

Then there is the fact that McMillan and Company Professional Organizers say that, “about 80% of clutter is due to disorganization NOT lack of space.”

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