Great starts are easy, the goal is to finish well
My Mama had a wonderful tradition of writing an annual Christmas letter to send to all our family and friends at Christmas time. She was also an amateur photographer – she even turned a small bathroom into a darkroom. So, every year, she would either take a photo of my siblings and me or use the camera timer and get a snap of the entire family to include in the letter.
A couple of years ago, I wrote about some of the health benefits of walking in a post titled: “Reducing Dementia, One Benefit of Walking”. Of course, at the time, it was during COVID, and highlighted a way to be social during that season. That post was based on previous studies, but the results of a new study just published is the icing on the cake!
Wayne and I recently met with a group of ladies who want to write a book. We were invited to attend the gathering by Venitra White-Dean, a lovely lady and founder of The Frankie Mae Foundation, a non-profit organization advocating for the caregiver as a whole person.
Each one attending realized they had a story to tell about their experience with caregiving. While everyone’s story shared similar elements, each was also unique. Their motto was, “We’re all singing the same song – just different verses.”
After caring for Mama throughout the last decade or so of her life while dementia relentlessly stole bits and pieces from both her abilities and memories, I am more committed than ever to do everything I can to strengthen my brain and hopefully prevent dementia from occurring in my own life. Of course, at the same time, I realize that there is an element of illness that is beyond anyone’s control. Regardless, I enjoy the healthy lifestyle that Wayne and I are pursuing and will continue it for as long as possible.
Back in 1952, Gene Kelly took the world by storm in the musical, “Singin’ in the Rain”. When Arthur Freed wrote the lyrics for that iconic song, I suspect that he must have spent some time in the Carolina’s where the rains are abundant in every season of the year – especially in the spring.
Mama’s blank expression assured me that she had no idea what I wanted her to do. The bunch of wisteria blossoms droop limply in her hand. I tried it again. Making an exaggerated motion of sniffing the flowers, I told her how lovely they smelled She gave me a confused look and a polite smile as she handed them back to me. I gave up. Temporarily! I desperately wanted her to enjoy the fragrant wisteria as she had in the past. Dementia stole that joy from her as well.
One of the saddest aspects of my Mama’s dementia was the realization that she had lost her sense of smell.
The most famous song to be sung at midnight on December 31 must be “Auld Lang Syne”, by the Scottish poet Robert Burns. I wondered how a Scottish poem became a New Year’s Eve tradition in America.
The New Year’s Eve festivities taking place in New York City’s Times Square were televised for the first time in 1943. Guy Lombardo’s dance band was performing live while the TV viewers waited for midnight. Lombardo decided to close out his New Year’s Eve performances with the song “Auld Lang Syne”.
The audience loved it. He made the song a New Year’s tradition. This yearly television exposure encouraged Americans to adopt as their own, the custom of singing “Auld Lang Syne” to bid farewell to the old year.
I have never been much of a nap-taker. Even when I am feeling sleepy, if I lay down and try to nap, daytime sleep evades. Interestingly enough, I usually do not have any trouble falling asleep at night. My occasional bouts of insomnia are usually due to a book that I find too interesting to put down.
It may be a genetic thing. My sister is also not a nap-taker, and my daughter never willingly took a nap when she was little. My husband easily takes naps, and I must confess that I am a bit envious of his napping ability.
We are now in the midst of Fall – it’s my favorite season of the year. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, Fall, also known as the autumn equinox, officially arrived here in the Northern Hemisphere at 3:20 P.M. (EDT), Wednesday, September 22, 2021.
One of my favorite features of Fall is the cooling temperatures. At first, it is subtle – one-day cooler, the next day hot. Right along with the changing temps, the humidity levels begin to drop slowly as well. Humidity has been one of my biggest challenges to adjusting to our new home here in the east, but air-conditioning helps me acclimate significantly.
The last couple of months have been a technical challenge for me. I noticed lately that my blog posts have had a precipitous drop in readership. Looking into it, I discovered something interesting. Five years ago, when I first began posting in my blog, it was perfectly fine to have my site URL begin with http://www… But recently, I learned that several browsers actually warn users that the website they are attempting to reach is not secure and may be malicious. Wow! Time to make a change.