A Very Interesting Day

Today actually had its beginnings yesterday when I cautioned my MIL that she didn't have much in her checking account. She didn't believe me and continued shopping. I decided to watch them "afar off" as they checked out at Walmart, and of course, her debit card didn't go through. They held up the line for a good 15 minutes and I'm not really sure how she ended up paying after that.

Today, I printed out the online statement to show her, and she got really mad. She accused me of sticking my nose in something that wasn't any of my business. Well, the point that I have POA for medical AND financial doesn't seem to matter a lot right now. I politely replied, "I'm only looking out for you."

More ranting and raving followed, anger, anger everywhere. She threatened to move out, yelled at my FIL, etc. etc. When my SIL called her and suggested she may want to call her bank and check what her balance was, of course, it turned out that it was as I said. My FIL got whisked away by my BIL and I decided it was OK to do my normal "thing" which was going to Curves and then my Friday shopping.

Where am I going with this? I guess I am just venting. I know by tomorrow, she'll have forgotten everything that happened today. Oh.. this is NOT a normal day in my abnormal world. But, what can I say? I know this too shall pass.

Life's a Journey ~ Enjoy the Ride

My inlaws have been with us now from Thanksgiving 2009. It has been 8 months. They pretty much just "showed up on our doorstep" on Thanksgiving Day. Something like that. No, really, they were supposed to let us know they were coming, but we heard the news through the grapevine. It was definitely not planned and it was definitely NOT something I would wish on anyone.

I have started this blog to document their time with us: The changes, the lessons we've learned, the challenges, etc., so we can all learn from this experience.

My father-in-law has Alzheimer's. My mother-in-law is a diabetic and also has a bit of dimentia. My father in law, Steve, is a pretty mellow guy. He loves little witty sayings and loves to joke around. Much to the chagrin of my MIL, Connie, who is a lot more serious. I am learning that you can't reason with people that have dementia. You'll only run yourself ragged. And as much as it has been a challenge to both of us, both my husband and I have learned a lot about each other through these past months.

So hopefully you will enjoy this journey with us.

View Dad's Memory Book here.