It was Christmastime when we found out mom was going to be a grandma. And at the same time I was banned from posting about it on social media. So I sat on this video clip for months. But now that the baby’s arrival is imminent, I am taking the liberty to post this video clip of mom finding out she is going to be a grandma! The “are you excited” face is at the top of my favorite moments we’ve captured on film.
Author Archives: mymomkathy
When I’m Sixty-Four
Today is my mom’s 64th birthday. And it’s a big birthday for me. This may sound weird but I’ve been waiting for this particular birthday all my life. I’ve been really excited for my mom to turn 64.
One of my earliest memories is my mom singing the Beatle’s “When I’m 64.” She sang it to me when I was a toddler. She sang it when she washed dishes. She sang it while she gardened. She whistled it. She got it in my head at an early age.
So throughout my life, whenever I would hear this song, I’d think of my mom, and I’d wonder what we would be like when she was 64, and if she’d sing this song on her 64th Birthday.
Well, I sang it. Several times today. And I thought about how our relationship has changed in almost 40 years.
And I wondered if when my mom would sing this song, she thought about the lyrics, and wondered if we would all still need each other, and if we’d all still love each other when she was 64? Did she sing it as a question? Or, did she know she’d done a good job and that whatever the circumstances, wherever we were, we’d love each other even more, we’d need each other even more, when she turned 64!
Beautiful People
“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”
~ Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Convertible Day
Mom still manages to surprise me. There are times she seems to have lost things and I just decide they are gone and move on. Balance has been one of those things. Another was being able to get up and down from a chair on her own. Since the neurologist said it is an inevitable sign of disease progression, when I noticed I thought it was another new normal.
But I was surprised when I went last week and she’s moving around better than she has in a couple of months. Even getting out of a chair on her own.
It seems she’s been working with physical therapy and the momsitter on her balance and strength. They’ve had her riding an exercise bike and playing catch with a nerf ball. And it’s helped.
I decided I should stop making assumptions about what we can’t do anymore, and since it was a beautiful day on Saturday I took mom for a ride in the convertible. The end of the video is classic…
Before…
During…
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After…
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Momsitting Update
week 25
day 1 today took walk outside,walked and,matched up outfits,read daily book,brush teeth,played a fishing game,soaked and cleaned feet,and massaged and painted toenails purple.
day 2 went outside for walk,rocked in rocking chair,listened to music,puzzles,brush teeth,read daily book.
day 3 today we went for a walk inside due to rain,brush teeth,played slot machine,listened to music,read daily book,and puzzles.
day 4 today we did puzzles,listened to music,repainted nails purple with white tips,brush teeth,read daily book,walked inside due to rain,and lotioned and massaged hands.
week 26
day 1 today we walked inside due to rain,puzzles,brush teeth,read daily book,sat on back porch and watch the rain come down,and listened to music.
day 2 today we took a walk,brush teeth,puzzles,took walk outside,rocked in rocking chair,read daily book,listened to music,cleaned nails,played velcro and fishing game.
day 3 today we took walk outside,played magnet fish game,puzzles,listened to music,brush teeth,repainted nails pink,read daily book,and matched outfits.
day 4 today we took walk outside,threw balloon back and forth,went to ice cream party on porch,brush teeth,puzzles,read daily book,cleaned nails,curled hair,and matched up outfits.
FTD on NBC Nightly News
Last week, a few friends sent me a link to an NBC Nightly News broadcast they saw that made them think of mom. This happens from time to time. People send me links about Alzheimers or dementia, and they are usually similar caregiver/patient stories, but not specifically what we are going through. But this story was different. This was exactly what we are going through. Well, were going through. This story was our story several years ago, when we were confused and desperate to know what was happening.
In two minutes, a good description of frontotemporal dementia…
Momsitting Update
week 21
day 1 Today we walked around, puzzles, cleaned fingernails, soaked, cleaned, massaged feet, brushed teeth, read daily book, and went outside for a walk and rocked on rocking chair.
day 2 Today we did puzzles, folded clothes, memory game, brush teeth, listened to music, read daily book, walked arnd, went to theraphy and did activities.
day 3 Today went to therapy and did activities, brush teeth, walked around, made our bed, lotioned and massaged feet, read daily book, and matched up outfits.
day 4 Today we walked around, brush teeth, cleaned nails, rocked in rocking chair outside, walked outside, read daily book, and puzzles.
week 22
day 1 Today we had a manicure and pedicure, brush teeth, walked around inside and outside, read daily book, and painted fingernails pink.
day 2 Today we walked around, brush teeth, read daily book, puzzles, matched up outfits, straightened up cd’s in case, walked outside,and listened to music.
day 3 Today we did puzzles, brush teeth, looked at pictures and identified them, walked around inside and outside, went outside and rocked in rocking chair.
day 4 Today we walked around inside and outside, wrote names on paper, read daily book, puzzles, brush teeth, cleaned nails, looked at magazine at the pictures, and listened to music.
Still Singing
One way I mark time now is by how many songs we can still sing together. The momsitter tells me she still gets mom to sing along to the jukebox for “Country Roads” and “Tie a Yellow Ribbon.”
During my last visit I made a medley of some of our favorites to see how much mom could remember. Here it is…
Behind the Scenes of a Photo
A lot goes into taking a picture like this:
There are at least 20 more on my camera like these:
The only way to really get the one picture is to take a couple of dozen pictures and find the perfectly timed shot–between the rocking and the talking and the looking away from the camera.
But the back and forth in the taking of the pictures are some of the best, and funniest moments we have together. I thought I’d make a video of what it is typically like:
my mom kathy 