I have been on the move since the last post. After California, my daughter-in-law and I went to Austin Texas for a girls weekend.  First time we have ever traveled alone together and we had a great time.  Of course, Jennifer did all the work by driving and maneuvering us in Austin and finding this for us to do.  I just “tagged” along. That seems to be all I am good for these days.  I really enjoyed it though — even though we stayed busy it was relaxing. Thanks to Jennifer for taking great care of me.

This week my nephew, his wife and two children were in Atlanta for a few days.  We got to meet up with them and share a few meals, some sight seeing and catching up on their lives.  My great niece who lives in Atlanta was also there and it was great to see her.

But now I need some rest — I get so tired these days and my concentration really suffers in the afternoon.  Next week I am actually heading off to Italy — yes, I can’t quite wrap my head around that either.  But, again, I am just “tagging” along and will have lots of help with me. More on that as I get closer to the trip.

Last week the Alzheimer’s Association sponsored an International Conference on research on dementia.  I was fortunate to go this conference several years ago and while it is highly technical I did get a lot out of it.  I was so fascinated by the research being done all over the world.  This year the conference had lots of great information — I highlight some on my Facebook page, but if you want a recap you can get it here:

AAIC International Conference

June is Brain Awareness Month so you are probably seeing a lot of reading material out there about Brain injuries and different sorts of dementias.  The Alzheimer’s Association has the “longest day” on June 21. They ask people to do whatever they love the most for 24 hours.  The “longest day” tries to illustrate what care partners have to go through on a daily basis in caring for their loved ones and what a long day it is.  If there are activities in your area, please get involved if you can.

Thanks to Dr. Lisa Renzi-Hammond at the University of Georgia Gerontology Department as well at Mary Caldwell of the Georgia Alzheimer’s Association.  Dr. Renzi-Hammond will be developing some programs for early stage Alzheimer’s in the fall and is acutely aware of the need for such programs in our Northeast Georgia area.  More details as it becomes available and how to apply for the programs .  It was my pleasure speaking to medical students, social workers, staff, professors and members of the Gerontology program on Friday as they get ready to initiate their programs. I appreciate your efforts so much — Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

We had a great trip to California although it will take me the week (or more) to rest up.  I just “followed the leader” and went where people told me to go.  When in San Francisco my family was right beside me — helping me maneuver the streets, the crowds and the noise.  Thanks to my son for chauffeuring us around and being our ‘tour guide”. I am glad he had lived out there for awhile and knew how to navigate — we wouldn’t have been able to do that!

It was tiring — I had to get my naps in — and the time change (3 hours) was bad, but I know I have to pace myself and I think I did a good job at that.

Our grandson was the ring bearer at his aunt’s wedding.  Our daughter-in-law was the matron of honor.  It was a beautiful ceremony at a winery in Sunol, California.  Here are a few photos.

I’m headed out to California tomorrow for a wedding.  I haven’t traveled in awhile so I am a little nervous. Busy airports are a problem for me — but we have tried to arrange to get their early enough that we might miss some of the crowds. We’ll see.  I am not traveling alone so that is a good thing!  And, when I get there I won’t have to do any driving — I will just be along for the ride.  We still have to watch out for crowds, noise and of course those nasty streets you have to cross but friends and family will be there to help.  Happy Memorial Day to everyone.

We are starting to gear up for this year’s Walk To End Alzheimer’s.  This year’s walk in Athens is October 26th.  Planning is under way.  My Team is Team Athens.  So proud of all of my teammates. Each year we raise over $10,000 and I am so touched by that.  If you want to be a part of Team Athens or want to donate the link to our Walk is here:

Athens Walk To End Alzheimer’s

This is our amazing team from last year!  Thank you all!

This week, I went with a friend to Bryson City, NC (although I kept thinking I was in TN). My friend was going on a hiking trip and I was “going along for the ride” since I hurt my foot and can’t hike.  It was an overnight trip and the day before the trip, my friend and I wandered into the small downtown to explore.  The next day while my friend was hiking I decided to go back into town to kill some time.  It was early in the day and there weren’t many people around so I found a parking spot on the street.  I ventured into a few stores and started to walk down the block — then it hit me — I forgot what a terrible time I have crossing the street.  If you have been following my blog you know this is one of the things I struggle with — I don’t know what it is, but I can only surmise that it is information “overload” when I get to the street corners.  There is all the noise of the cars, the people, stop lights, lights that flash with numbers, or words or sounds.  I just get confused.  I forget this because I am rarely in a situation where I have to cross the street by myself.  I try not to put myself in that position, or when I am in that position I have someone with me and I “follow the leader”.  I don’t trust following strangers when they cross for some reason so I don’t like to follow them.  When I am in a big city, I usually have to hold hands or touch people as I walk across the street. I feel safer.  But, this small town in North Carolina shouldn’t have been a problem as there weren’t very many people out and about.  But, I struggled. I got frustrated. I thought maybe I should get in my car and see if I could get a parking spot in the next block and continue my journey. I figured my luck in getting a parking spot on each block would be pretty hard. So, I waited.  I am not sure what I was waiting for — but I couldn’t make myself cross the street. So, I watched the traffic pattern.  There wasn’t much traffic and I finally decided to take a chance when I could see absolutely no cars for about five blocks each way. When I got half way across the road all I could think of was, on no, why did I do this — I will have to go through all of this again going back!  On occasion I have asked a police officer to help me across the street.  I thought I could go in and ask a shop owner if they could help me cross on my way back.

So I went in to a few more stores feeling a little uneasy as I knew I had to cross the street to go back to my car.  When I got back to the street corner it took me about 15 minutes to feel comfortable to cross the street by myself.  I know how stupid this must sound to you as you read this, that I can’t do something that simple. It was a small town — and it made me feel stupid that I can’t do this.  I need to keep reminding myself I am not stupid, Alzheimer’s makes me that way.

Thanks again for finding my site.  If you want to follow me on a regular basis there is an icon to the lower left of this blog.  A huge thank you to my sweet daughter-in-law for setting this up for me and answering all my stupid questions.  Hold on Jennifer, because I will probably have a lot more.

Stress — stress has become a real issue for me.  The less the better.  I have had a few gigantic meltdowns over the last few months due to stress.  Not good meltdowns either.  And, it doesn’t take much to cause stress in my life these days.  Alzheimer’s gets so much worse with stress and fatigue.  So, the calmer my life and the less complicated my life the better off I am.  Learning to relax is good. Learning to say no is good. Thinking about what I need rather than what will please others is good for me. Telling people what stresses me out is good.

My appointment with my neurologist a couple of weeks ago showed my memory and assessment of things has gone down significantly. That alone brings stress to me.  He told me that if it continues at this rate I am going to need a lot more help getting through my days.  That is hard to hear.

So, I am trying to do more things that make me happy. And, of course, my almost 2 1/2 year old grandson Ian makes me happy. Spending time with him makes me feel like a kid again (even though my body doesn’t feel like one) and he makes me smile. If we could all live the stress free life of a child.

Here he had tried on his suite for his Auntie Christine’s wedding in which he will be a ring bearer and he is playing “traingineer” with grandma.

I’ve moved my blog to this new address. Hopefully, it will be easier for me to post on a regular basis.