Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2006. Mattie was four years old and we took him to the US Botanical Gardens. To me this was a special place during the holidays! It was during that time the Garden displayed miniature models of our National monuments that were made out of plant materials. As you can see we posed in front of the model of Congress.
Quote of the day: Grief, I’ve learned, is really just love. It’s all the love you want to give but cannot. All of that unspent love gathers up in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat, and in that hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go. ~ Jamie Anderson
While waiting for my dad's physical therapist to arrive this morning, I decided to read him an article in the newspaper. Ironically he asked to look at the paper himself and I gave it to him, and within two seconds, he said he read it all. Which of course wasn't the case. My dad can physically read, but he has NO retention on anything he reads or hears.
So instead I decided to find an article my dad might find interesting. Low and behold, there was an article about the benefits of wearing socks to bed. It was zany enough to capture his attention. So I read it out loud and paused between paragraphs to give him recaps.
The article, Can Wearing Socks to Bed Help You Sleep Better? to me is a hoot. Yet that said, I think when I was in my twenties, I did wear socks to bed. Now the notion of something tight on my feet doesn't sound appealing. But have you ever given this any thought? Well we did today and then we continued the conversation when my dad's therapist arrived. Here are the main benefit to wearing socks to bed.... By making your feet warmer, you’re opening up blood vessels to help cool down the rest of the body. Therefore, lowering your core temperature enables us to sleep better.
It's an interesting theory and better yet, this topic kept my dad engaged, listening to the article, and he even had commentary for me and his therapist. I assure you this is a rarity. Many times my dad looks fogged out and sleepy. It takes great effort on my part to keep him mentally with us to some extent.
In fact, I spend a good portion of my day with people who have cognitive challenges. It is a wonder how I haven't lost it mentally either. But someone has to be intact and functioning in my house. While the therapist was working with my dad, I ran to the watch repair shop because my dad's watch broke. For him that is a national crisis. Unfortunately it will take two weeks for it to be repaired, and I will have to manage his anxiety over this. From the watch store, I went grocery shopping. Then came home, put groceries away, dealt with laundry and then the fun began. I spent three hours with my mom on paying her quarterly taxes and other bills. When I tell you that was exhausting, that would be putting it mildly.
All I can say is may tomorrow be a better day!
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