Another First

I think we've hit upon another Mama Jo first.

Last night after watching a movie in the basement, we did our normal routine of turning off all the lights, locking up all the doors, checking to see if the garage doors were down, and tucking in Mama Jo. All seemed normal. When Deke arose this morning, the basement lights were on. Neither he nor I had been in the basement since the movie. Are you sure? Well, of course I'm sure, I said. I should remember if I got up in the night and went to the basement!

Since there's only the three of us in this house, and neither Deke nor I went to the basement in the middle of the night... Mama Jo.

So now I guess she is wandering. Not only that- sometime in that same time frame she must have picked up and put on the bra and panties that I had laid out for the next day. Under her pajamas. I discovered that when I was helping her with her shower. Bra and panties? Wait a minute- she had taken those off before putting on her pajamas. I know because she has been giving me fits about removing them at night.

So, is Mama Jo silently rebelling by turning on lights and sneaking on the bra and panties? Who, in her right mind would want to wear her bra and panties to bed? OH.

It's never a dull moment around here. Fantastic things happen when our minds don't function normally any longer. It does wear me out when I have to show where the bathroom, kitchen, tissues, bedroom, etc are. Can't you remember? The answer is "no," She can't remember. She can't remember that she's been here 2 years or the location of anything in this house, or any of the people she meets at church, or any of her financial business, or her husband, or her children, or ANYTHING. She is very content to sit. Can you believe I'd ever say that of Mama Jo? She sits. Not interested in reading or watching TV or working on a puzzle or cleaning or raking leaves or anything. She sits. What is she thinking about?

There are two movies that best illustrate her present condition: "Awakenings" with Robin Williams, and the movie starring Drew Barrimore where she can't remember anything more than one day. Does anyone know the name of that movie? Erin tells me there is a character in that movie called "Ten-Second-Tom" (or something like that) who can only remember for 10 seconds. All of these people had brain injuries of some sort which affected their daily lives. If you watch one or both of those movies, you will begin to get a handle on Mama Jo. This is a scenario we never imagined.

So... what's next? Your guess is as good as mine, probably better. Stay tuned.

To Brighten Your Day

Hope this brightens your day as much as someone special brightened mine. Enjoy!

Rockin' Away

Just Happenings

Friday, just before Mama Jo's hair appointment, we ate lunch with Carole Siler (left) and Kay Yoder at the Flora Family Restaurant. We hadn't seen Carole for 9 months; she fell last summer and has been recuperating. Kay is a good friend who goes to Mom's church in Flora. We had a great time just being together.

Beautiful day today so Mama Jo spent hours sitting in the sunshine.

Happy Birthday Grandma Mary

Grandma Mary celebrating her 88th birthday!

The "favorite son" sneaking a picture with his mom

Last evening, Max and Dianne, Marian, Mama Jo, Deke and I met at a local restaurant to celebrate Grandma Mary's 88th birthday. The meals were excellent (excepting Dianne's) and a great time of fellowship was had by all.

A Short Visit

We were able to visit with Wendy (widow) after the memorial service. Here we are with her granddaughter.







A very good Air Force friend died a week ago and his memorial service was to be held at a church not more than 2 miles from Mark and Lori's house. We left Friday, right after Deke got home from work and traveled the 5 hours to be at the service the following morning. The service really was nice, and we were glad we had made the effort to attend.

While at Mark and Lori's house, we helped them clean up the drywall dust and debris in preparation for priming and painting. They are finishing off their basement which will give them over 2000' of additional living space. The dust is terrible and tracks to the upstairs hardwood floors. Even Deke couldn't stand the footprints; hence the picture of him Swiffering. Saturday evening we even got in a game of bid euchre with friends of Mark and Lori. All in all, we had a great time.

Mama Jo's New Do

Today we traveled to Flora to Renee's Boutique so that Mama Jo could get her new perm. Wow, we were in drastic need of a new "do" as the old perm had gasped out its last curl. So now she's lookin' good again and I won't be struggling so much with the curling iron. Yeah for professional hairdressers!