Thursday, April 8, 2021

Thursday, April 8, 2021

Tonight's picture was taken in April of 2006. That day I took Mattie to the Reston Zoo, a smaller scale zoo, with an extensive petting zoo. Mattie absolutely loved this Zoo, the pony rides, meeting ostriches, and feeding the goats. When we arrived at the zoo, I saw that big pink bunny and encouraged Mattie to pose for a photo. Mattie was used to my need to take pictures, and thank goodness I did!!!

Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins.

• Number of people diagnosed with the virus: 30,999,998
• Number of people who died from the virus: 560,083

This morning I went upstairs with my dad's caregiver. He couldn't see me, but I was in his bedroom because I wanted to see his morning routine in order to figure why it is taking him two hours to get washed and dressed each morning. As soon as my dad stepped in the shower, I started my stopwatch. My dad thinks he is taking a five minute shower, but today he took a twenty minute shower. My dad did not know I was in the room and timing him. When he stepped out of the shower, I said good morning and told him what I was doing. I showed him my timer. He couldn't get over how long he was in the shower. I needed to observe what was going on in order to create a solution. 

This morning, I bought a waterproof clock/timer. It is my hope that it arrives tomorrow so I can install it inside the shower. I believe if my dad can see a clock or a count down, it will help him shower more effectively. What has concerned me is that showering is wearing my dad out physically. After all showering one's self for twenty minutes is tiring. 

My dad and mom had the opportunity to participate on their first Zoom call today. The people you see here are my dad's first cousins. They all grew up together in New York. Ironically for me this was my first time meeting most of them. This was a great experience for my dad, as his cousins shared many memories and though my dad did not remember most of them, he enjoyed hearing them and reconnecting. 

My cousins shared this photo with me today. The woman sitting on the left in blue was my dad's mom, and the man standing behind her (with the burgundy tie) was my dad's father. 

I am continuing my cooking spree. I went grocery shopping again and put together honey mustard chicken wings and legs. I am cooking and freezing them, so that my mom can easily have access to cooked food for herself and my dad. 

Also baked chicken breasts and thighs. My mom only eats white meat and my dad only eats dark meat. So this way, there is something for each of them.