A Mom's Much Needed Break

I had grand plans to end 2016. Thoughtful pieces were on deck to publish, plans to connect with more readers were being finalized;  I was ready to end the year with a big bang and welcome 2017 with as much optimism and hope that I could. 

Wrap up a blog, start another, concentrate on writing more fiction, and tell more of my parenting stories: this was my to-do lists for the new year. 

Then, life—in its most unexpected and surprisingly delightful manner—quite literally got in the way.

Ever heard of the expression: Man plans, God laughs? 

Well, I can safely say that God has one of the greatest senses of humors known to man. Because as much as I planned for this, it’s still rocked me—and my family—to its core. 

My husband and I always wanted to expand our brood, and though we always knew it was going to be a brand new adventure—starting from square one and building our parental chops once more—we never knew it’d be this…different. 

So, in lieu of us transitioning from a family of three to a family of four, I’m taking a little break and cherishing these last few months—where brief silence is still feasible with a 3 year old, where early nights spent binging Netflix shows with my husband is still the norm. 

This break isn’t permanent, trust me. Words are my life and telling stories will be inherent with everything I do. In fact, my unfinished novel will be getting some much needed attention while we all prepare for our next bundle of joy’s arrival. 

So, for now, I bid you a temporary adieu. Be kind to each other, now more than ever, and always.

See you soon!

There Goes All Sense of Dignity (Guest Post)

Grace had the shingles, and not just the shingles, but the shingles in her forehead and one eye. The doctors said the worse kind of pain. The difficult part was that because of the Alzheimer’s, she could not remember why she was in so much pain and she could not remember to keep her hands off her sores and away from her eyes. It was a terrible time. I had her in the basement of our home as it was cool and dark down there. I even had to put a towel over the basement window as she could handle no light at all. This one night, she became quite delusional and was screaming that there was water all around the bed. She was “worried for the children”. It was a very long night as I just laid with her and held her so she would not “fall into the water.”

By early morning, both she and I were totally, physically and emotionally exhausted. About this time, she needed to use the bathroom and as I started to get her up, I realized she could not walk. Her legs just would not hold her up. I knew something else was going on but not sure what and she became quite adamant that she needed the bathroom. Thus, I mostly drug and somewhat carried her down the little hallway to the bathroom but I could not hold her weight and I started to fall. I positioned myself so that she would fall on top of me and not be hurt. As we both hit the floor, so did her bowels. An explosion all over me.. We both just kept eye contact with each other as we did not want to acknowledge what had just happened. Then, with as much clarity as you or I, Grace said “Well, there goes all sense of dignity”. We laughed and laughed and then I somehow got her to the bathroom and into the shower. Once dressed, I called 911 and we got her the help needed.

Buy Stages of Grace here 

Find Connie here

Stages of Grace

I'm sharing with you something near and dear to my heart. I've known first had what it's like to witness the long goodbye associated with Alzheimer's and I believe Ms. Ruben's words within this book is helpful to anyone who have been through the same. Thank you to Connie for her words of encouragement and for making us feel not so alone in this difficult journey. 

This book was written out of a desire to share with others who have loved ones with Alzheimer's disease what I have experience as Grace' caregiver and friend. I wanted to capture the emotions, the expected and the unexpected issues, the painful times as well as the humorous and loving moments that Grace and I have shared as a result of this disease. This is not mean to be a handbook for dealing with Alzheimer's disease, but I hope that by sharing my feelings and experiences, readers may recognize they are not alone on this particular journey

 

Buy Stages of Grace here 

Find Connie here