i'll start with just a snippet of a phone "conversation" with my usually silent Mom. My Dad and i had been chatting and, unknown to her he'd switched to speaker phone BEFORE he told her, "val wants to talk to you." Giggling, she jumped UP^on that comment to say very very clearly, "oh she does, does she?" True to form, i got nary a word more out of her for that visit across all our miles...but "we" joked about it (sometimes i tease her that talking to her on the phone is like playing hide and seek, and once she agreed "just like it"!)...and i feel sure we both left our hearts with each other full of smiles across those miles!
Your turn! come on, folks ~ let's make tHIS kind of like the ABC game Missy gave us! it's a Way to be Kind to each other with enCOURAGEment as we fight the Good fight by trading mems of the Gifts our folks still ARE! so, Happy TALES to you :) Jesus'n'val = Him and/in me, Hoping to be Blessing thee...
since i got an "off'camera" response that i think captures the Purpose of Trading Happy Tales, wanted to share it with y'all: "...interesting the bursts of phrases you'll get from your mom in a usually silent "conversation", kind of like sunrays through the tree leaves." yUP^...or maybe like butterflies fluttering and flittering in the breeze...to be enJOYed in the moment more than pinned down! so what glimpses of sunny rays have been yours to treasure lately? sure do wanna hear!
signing off with, Happy Tales to you...until we meet again! ...yes, you can hum along ~ Roy and Dale would be pleased, and so would Trigger and Buttercup! Jesus'n'val
My mom likes to pick up a phone extension and listen in whenever someone calls...she never participates but you can hear her raspy breathing. Used to exasperate me and make me self conscious but I think she's not delibrately eavesdropping she just likes to feel involved and doesnt remmeber what I say anyway!!!!!!
thanks for starting a HAPPY thread
hi, Anonny! Greetings! you're most welcome, both Ways: glad you're here and glad you appreciate a HAPPY thread!
i've got a thought, which may not work with your Mom at all, but i'm pretty sure mine would get a big chuckle out of it: If you're living with her, (or can get the person you're calling who does live with her to...) how 'bout putting down the phone and tiptoeing up behind her and gently startling her with a hug? no purpose, just for FUN for both of you! in fact, if it works once, you can do it over and over and she'll probably never catch on that you're coming!. if you can do tHIS (w/o giving her a heart attack - you know your own Mom!) , please let me know her reaction...and YOURS to hers: yUP^, come on back here and TRADE your HAPPY TALE!!! ...until we meet again...Jesus'n'val
I have two. One is funny from a long time ago. We were in the neurologist office and he was giving the standard test. Remember these 3 words, spell world, etc. Finally he tugged on his tie and said "What's this?" My husband louded replied, "A dammed ugly tie!" We all got a big kick out of that and from then on my husband always replied the same way.
Two, I already shared this in another spot, but I will share it again here. Ju?st recently my husband suddently started speaking in full sentences and sometimes in paragraphs. Before he had a had time finding one or two words. A true miracle. We were driving in the car and I was making conversation. I said, I went to weight watchers today and got weighed in. He said, why? I explained I was trying to stay healthy and lose some weight. He responded, "I think you are beautiful just the way you are." This is a gift I will treasure forever. Live in the moment and watch for the little gifts in the experience.
Joy
Hey, JOY! Yea, you found us! i'm real sleepy, so i'll just say: Bravo to both you and your hubby for living LARGE in the moment ~ i can tell y'all are such COOL folks! good night and good morning...until we meet again: HAPPY TALES to you, keep smiling until then! Jesus'n'val
Good morning or evening, as the case may be! TYVM, Gollyboy for this opportunity to share some lighter moments in the world we know as "caregiving".
I learned from my aunt, (who cared for her husband until he passed), the importance of finding a sliver of humor in the day to day challenge of Alzheimer's care. Without disrespect for all invoved, it helps to stay uplifted and focussed to share a moment in time, which may bring a smile to someone who needs it.
It can be devastating when a loved one no longer recognizes you for the first time.
I was working in the kitchen , preparing lunch for my Mother who is 84. I placed her plate in front of her on the table. She looked up at me quizzically and asked ,"Who are you?"
While it brought pain, I simply smiled and said, "I'm Maggie, the maid."
Her precious response was a delightful, " I didn't know we had a maid! Nice to see you!" With that, she began her meal.
It was a bittersweet moment. While closing one door, another one opened into a different world for both of us. I'll cherish the look on her face forever.
Hugs to All,
Maggie, the Maid :-)
Most of the time my father thinks I am ridiculous for helping him so much, because of course there is NOTHING wrong with him. But a few weeks ago, I was sorting out some medication mix-ups and he looked at me and said "It's embarrasing being so dependent on you." I replied, "I don't think of it that way. I think we are all interdependent and sometimes any of us might need a little more help." He smiled as if this was a pleasant thought. I'll hold on to that memory for a long time.
Awww, "Maggie" and Judith, y'all are so precious ~ and your Trading of Happy Tales means so much to me...i'll just get out of the way, and glady expect tHIS to snowball now...Who's NEXT?
Happy Tales to/from you...until We meet again! Jesus'n'val ~ on tippyToes for More Sharing...!!!
ps ~ isn't it Neat how sharing the memories seems to Revive them for us, too (: i luv tHIS Effect!
Hi Gollyboy!
This is Murray Pianistics! Thought I'd let you know that I just received a strange phone call today from someone, reportedly from a diabetes association! The man asked if my mother, Bertie was there. I told him that my mother had been dead for ten years. Then he asked if I was there. I asked him how he got my name. He said he was from a diabetes association. Then I thought he asked to speak with the owner, so I informed him that I wasn't the owner of the house! Then he said "No, not the owner, the donor!" Then he said he would call again at a better time. Funny thing, because neither myself nor my mother had diabetes, so why would we be donors? Unless of course the well-known Dr. Kevorkian, the guy who used to work at UCLA, donated some of her body parts to them for their research! He has been under investigation for quite some time for selling body parts, as you may have already heard. That's what happened with my mother's remains about 10 years ago after she passed away.
When I was a small child growing up, my mother noticed many things that my father never noticed at all. She was much more observant than he was. I had a serious head injury way back in 1963, and she noticed the consequences that happened after that, but my father never did. But once again, today I have an MRI sceduled to study the damage from that. It was already detected from a CT Scan back in 2007, but the diagnosis for that was incorrect back then. Since that time I've been able to put a lot of the pieces to this puzzle together, and I must thank God for that!
Thanks for letting me know about your new Blog site, Val!
Murray Pianistics
Watch This
