Happy Birthday, Kathy DeMarco!

To celebrate this day I am doing my best to follow the mantra WWKD, what would Kathy do?

Mom’s Birthday, To Do List:

• Eat a tomato sandwich, on toast.
• Drink iced tea.
• Listen to some of Kathy’s favorite songs, and sing along…loudly, maybe with the proper lyrics, or with the words they should have used in the song.
• I’m going to do something compassionate for a stranger.
• Give someone some folksy/awesome advice, via a Kathyism. “It’s not cool to be cold.”
• Think of others first.
• Dance, poorly and off beat, but not care. (DeMarco’s are not “dancing folk”.)
• Smile and laugh a lot.
• Call my family.
• Enjoy a good dinner with my family.

Since I will not be able to go visit Mom on this day I am going to take my wife out for dinner tonight and order what I think Kathy would order. Since my wife has wonderful manners I am seriously doubting I will be able to use some of my favorite Kathyisms at dinner, “No singing at the dinner table. Would you like to eat with us, or without us?” (I always found that a trick questions as a kid, and more often than not chose the wrong answer)

I love you Mom. Every visit, and every memory I am reminded that all the good things that I am I got from you and dad. All the bad stuff I either picked up on my own, or it was advice from my brother.

Happy Birthday, Momma D!

“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

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…

<a

After…

<a

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.    

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.

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…

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:

week 19
day 1 today we walked arnd,brushed teeth,played cards,listened to music,read daily book,and looked at newspaper.
day 2 today we walked arnd,brushed teeth,puzzles,read daily book,and played memory game.
day 3 today we walked,listened to music,puzzles,went outside for a walk and rocked in rocking chair,lotioned and massaged hands and feet,matched up outfits,and read daily book.
day 4 today we listened to music,cleaned nails,puzzles ,walked arnd,repainted nails,read daily book,and brushed teeth.

week 20
day 1 today we walked arnd, puzzles,brushed teeth,read daily book,went to theraphy and peddled bike,listened to music,and trimmed and cleaned fingernails.
day 2 today we played cards,read daily book,brushed teeth,listened to music,walked arnd,went outside and sat in sun and took walk outside.
day 3 today we went to theraphy and hit balloon around,walked around, redid nails orange,brushed teeth,read daily book,and did puzzles.
day 4 today we walked arnd,puzzles,brushed teeth,read daily book,folded clothes,played tic tac toe,and went outside and rocked in rocking chair