The Journey

Today my sister and I met with the director of our Mother’s care home. He had asked for a meeting with us to go over Mom’s care plan now that she has been there a couple months and has settled in.
It is a painful process having to place your mom in a special care home. Our hearts ache as her personality and intelligence is robbed by Alzheimer’s disease. The role reversal is difficult to get used to. In our lifetime, our roles have gone full circle. The mother who took care of us when we were children is now becoming the child. Just as she used to meet with our teachers for parent-teacher interviews, now we, her children, are meeting with the people entrusted with her care, to discuss the best plan of action for her. This cruel, unrelenting disease is taking our mother away, leaving a shell of who she used to be with a new personality clouded by vague memories and confusion. We struggle to come to terms with what is happening as she begins to forget her grandchildren, no longer understands finances and is no longer able to live on her own.
How fortunate we are that there are angels among us who step forward with love, patience and understanding to take care of our loved ones when they need it the most. How would families cope if not for the special care aids, LPNs and nurses who know what to do and how to care for our confused loved ones? While we struggle to understand what is happening to our mother, her care-givers wrap their love around her and provide her with a safe environment. All the things that are new to us, they have seen before and handle with caring hands and knowledge. Not only do they care for Mom, but they are teaching us as well about this disease and about growing old with dignity, no matter what. We are so grateful to have a safe place for Mom where she is cared for by these special people. This is a new road for my sister and I, one that we walk with our mother. Luckily, we will be guided by the experience and knowledge of others, and it is not a road we will have to travel alone. Those who care for the elderly and the confused with love, patience and a sense of humour no doubt earn their place in Heaven here on earth. For us, the families of those they care for, they are already angels who have our appreciation, respect and admiration. Angels who care for the elderly and the confused when families are not able to. . . it’s a good thing!

Biking For Brain Power

I love riding my bike. Our city has a wonderful walking/biking trail. There is nothing I love more than riding my bike on that trail on a summer evening, feeling the wind blowing through my hair. What a relaxing way to end a busy day. Now I find out that not only bike riding good for you physically, it is also good for increasing your brain power . . . especially in females! The Spanish National Research Council in Madrid has concluded that walking or biking at least minutes to school gives girls an academic edge. The Council looked over 1,700 test scores from urban teens. They found there is a definite link between exercise and better grades. It was even more pronounced in girls. So ladies, grab your bikes to improve your body and your mind. Biking for brain power . . . it’s a good thing!

The EXTREME Importance of Fun

Dr. E. Christine Moll of Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y. has released a study that proves it is “extremely” important to have fun! Baby boomers are known for leading an “all-work and no-play” life style, and Dr. Moll says that has to stop. She says fun and leisure is just as important to one’s well-being as keeping proper cholesterol levels and getting exercise. She asks the question, “Why was the last time you did something just for fun or just for the health of it?” Dr. Moll states that her definition of leisure as anything that brings you personal joy. She says “For our physical, mental, spiritual and cognitive health, leisure is a necessity, not a luxury. It airs out your brain and renews your spirit”. Having fun can be anything from reading a book, going for a walk or enjoying a meal with your family. So, go ahead and have fun, you will be healthier for it. Having fun because it is extremely important . . . it’s a good thing!

That Hat!

Two weeks ago, millions of people watched the Royal Wedding. Those same millions of people also laughed (or recoiled in horror) at the hat Princess Beatrice was wearing. It was designed by Britain's leading milliner, Philip Treacy. He designed many of the hats worn to the royal wedding, but none drew the ridicule that Beatrice's hat did. In fact, he defended the hats, saying he thought Beatrice looked gorgeous at the wedding. While the public dislike for her hat could have been a devastating event in Beatrice's life, it has now become a positive because of a very clever decision on her part. She has taken the notoriety of the hat and created an opportunity to raise funds for UNICEF and Children In Crisis. The hat will go up for sale on eBay soon and it is expected to raise a great deal of money for the charities. Good for Princess Beatrice who obviously believes that when the world hands you a lemon, you make lemonade! Taking a negative and turning it into a positive . . . it's a good thing!

Friday the 13th

If you harbour a fear of Friday the 13th, you have parashevidekatriaphobia. There is really no explanation as to why people fear this date. Even those who fear it have no idea or explanation why they think that way. People just fear this day for no concrete reason - they just do. However, this superstition is widespread. Most hospitals and hotels have no room 13. Many hotels do not have a 13th floor - the floors skip from 12 to 14. Simalirly, some airline terminals do not have a gate 13. President Franklin Roosevelt never travelled on the 13th day of any month. Nor would he host 13 guests. President Herbert Hoover also had a great fear of the number 13, as did Napoleon. Personally, I am ok with Friday the 13th. I have never had anything happen to me that hasn't happen on any other day. Actually, it is sort of exciting to make it through that day without anything bad occuring. Taking the fear of Friday the 13th with a grain of salt . . . it's a good thing!

The Perfect Ice Cream Cake!

Dairy Queen in Toronto has set a new Guinness World Record. The employees constructed the world's largest ice cream cake on Tuesday. Lucky Torontonians were served free slices of the huge creation. The cake consisted of 22,000 pounds of ice cream, sponge cake, icing and oreo crumbs. The old record was set in Beijing in 2006 and it weighed in at 17,637 pounds. The cake was created on site with the first slab of ice cream poured onto a platform, then covered with 40 pound trays of oreos. Icing and sponge cake are added next and the process started over again creating a higher and higher cake. After two hours of serving the huge cake, there was still plenty left. Having your cake - especially a very, very large one - and eating it too . . . it's a good thing!

Wedded Bliss

This has to be the sweetest love story ever! Rose Pollard Lunsway, ninety years old, is shown here marrying Forrest Lunsway on his 100th birthday! Rose and Forrest met in the early 1980 on a blind date at a Seniors centre. They danced the night away. They have been together ever since, but Rose would never agree to marry Forrest. She liked things the way they were. She finally told him that she would marry him on his 100th birthday and he took her up on it. They live in a seniors complex and, with the help of the complex director, they arranged for a secret ceremony. They invited their friends and family to what they thought was a birthday part for Forrest. They walked in to find they had been invited to a wedding! The couple is on their way into the Guinness World Book of Records for being the oldest couple to get married. Have a look at the beautiful couple at this site: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/04/oldest-newlyweds-rose-pollard-forrest-lunsway_n_857312.html?ref=fb&src=sp Knowing that you are never too old to fall in love . . . it's a good thing!