Life Sure Turns on a Dime

Things have been really shaking up here lately. After observing very erratic/dangerous behavior and activity by my eighty year old mother-in-law, hubby and made an appointment with her doctor to have an evaluation done for dementia. After she refused to go to the appointment, things took a sudden and horrific turn for the worse. She took off in the rain, walking. When we could not find her, we called the police. Luckily, we found her, unharmed (but she has wandered off in the past and came back with unexplained cuts and bruises. She has also accepted rides from strangers). The whole process was/is terrible for all involved. We had to have a magistrate issue an order to take her to the ER. She didn't go willingly, and it made it that much worse. Long story short, an involuntary commitment order was issued by the hospital, and she spent a week in a psychiatric floor. Tests have concluded she is indeed suffering from dementia/early Alzheimer's. Medication should help with memory loss and the paranoid delusions she's suffering. However, she's very angry at my husband for "doing this to her." She's home now, in the care of her husband and son (who lives with them). Our interest is in keeping her safe.

Moral of this story: Have a talk with your parents/children/SO now. Get your affairs in order before decline starts. Hubby and I are getting power of attorney for each other in order to be able to make decisions and get information from healthcare providers should an emergency come up now (while we're young). I have even discussed this with my own parents, who are significantly younger than hubby's folks. Believe me, you will avoid a lot of heartache. This has been a whirlwind period of education for all of us involved. And, we are also seeing it bring out the worst in some family members, but also the best in others.

Moving onto a happier note, I have passed the fifty pound mark in garden harvest! View the right side of the screen for a tally of each veggie. The actual total is higher, as my neighbor has free reign to pick what she wants (she buys many of the plant starts and we share the bounty). I'm not going to ask her to weigh anything, so I'll just count what I pick. Two of my round zucchini plants dropped dead, as in keeled over. I can't figure out why, but I did pull the dead plants and dropped in some more zuke seeds in their place, and they have sprouted already. The corn is taller than me now (over five feet tall), and I'm hoping to see it produce some ears within the next few weeks. There are a good number of green tomatoes on the plants, and these hot summer nights will have them ripening in abundance soon. One of my favorite things to see is my kitchen countertop covered with red tomatoes. Bring it on! Hubby has the camera at work, or I'd post some pics.

As for healthy living, that needs lots of work. With all the family drama over the past weeks, there has not been much meal planning or prep in my kitchen. Too much going out to eat, too much alcohol consumption, NO exercise (except the 12 oz. curl). I have the day off from work today, so I'll be spending a few hours in my favorite room of the house. I'm thinking about making most of the recipes in the June McDougall Newsletter. I'll be sure to take pics of whatever turns out good.

I have sheets and blankets, and three loads of laundry hanging outside; that will keep us in clean clothes for a while! I don't mind the hanging part, as I've mentioned before, but folding and putting everything away is borrrring. Hubby gets to do the stuff that hangs in the closet. He has more patience than I.