Hello All,

I just wanted to let you all know that when you are ready to take down your Chrsitmas Tree, defrost your refrigerator, or re-arrange your homes, I will be glad to rent my dad out!

Apparently last night (yes overnight) my dad decided to dismantle the Chrsitmas tree on his floor in the ALF, remove all the food, shelves, and drawers from the refrigerator and put everything....food, ornaments (did not break a single thing), fridge drawers in various places...like a drawer behind the fishtank. Now, my father in his pre-AD was incredibly organized, he ran a Goodyear Tire Shope for 50 years and it was so clean you could eat off the floor. Now in post-AD he is bordering on OCD and it manifests itself in constantly moving things.

The ALF that he lives in is incredible and the people, like RA's in the ALF are wonderful and they think this is hysterical. He never breaks or hurts anything, they just know it is him and they call me to let me know of his latest antics. He gets wonderful care there, and the only thing I am ever afraid of is that they will tell me he is getting to hard to handle. They have assured me countless times that he is fine and as long as he doesn't wander (he never goes outside), isn't a danger to himself or others, he can stay there forever.

Anyway, I got a great laugh about this, so did the RA when she called me, and I thought I would share with you all!

Cheers, Anita

That is funny, Anita. And so delicately! HA! I used to attend a face to face, caregiver support group, here, in Montana. And your story reminds me of one sweet Man, about 80, trying to care for his wife, by himself, who had AD. It was around Christmas time, and bless his heart, he decorated, tree & all. Well, he said every-single-day his wife would announce "Well, Christmas is over now, so it time to take all of this down" (it wasn't!) as she got busy doing just that. I felt so bad for him. I think he FINALLY got some in-home-care, for his wife & himself!

Your Dad's Facility sounds AWESOME! Maybe instead of all the rotten reports they, and we list all the time, perhaps we should give awards??? Positive reinforcement, for excellent care???

Ya, you're right, I am a dreamer.

That is funny, Anita. I remember decorating for one of the holidays and had to leave (Old Navy, my FIL could be left alone for short periods of time).

When I came home, my DH met me at the door, complaining that I'd left a huge mess in the living room. ON insisted that the mess was mine.

The only thing we can figure out is that he decided he didn't like the way the place was decorated and tried to move things around, but forgot that he did it.

The things they do can really be quite hilarious.

Oh gosh that is just too funny, Anita.
I think most AD patients get OCD. It can drive you crazy but you gotta laugh.

Thanks for all the responses! I also have about 10-12 wallets of his if anyone needs one! He went through a stage of losing his wallet, and drivers license...and going out and getting a new wallet and license every week, so I have all the ones I found in various places in his apartment and I have saved them. When my mom died I put some pictures, her birthday cards she never got a chance to open, and a book I had just read that I planned on giving her into her coffin so she would have them. I am saving my dad's wallets for the same reason, so he will always have one when he needs one.

It is true, some of the things they do are really funny and you just have to laugh...or scratch your head!

Oh my God, that is just hysterical Anita!!!! How is your Dad at putting up a tree, as I still don't have mine up??!!

Mom gets stuck on her bed like that. I tell her I will make her bed, and for hours, she asks me if I made her bed. It's something she always did for years. You get up and make your bed before anything. She constantly walks to her bedroom to see if I made her bed. And of course, by the time she comes back, she's forgotten already, so she goes again to her room to see if I made that darn bed.

It's so nice to hear that your Dad is in a wonderful facility. And so nice especially that the facility takes such good care of him and finds what he does as funny and not anything else. God bless them!!!

Jackie

Anita, it sure does sound like your dad's facility has the right kind of people working there! My mom is currently into putting on Bonne Bell Lip Smackers on her lips and immediately wiping it off with a Kleenex. OVER AND OVER. ALL DAY. ALL NIGHT.

Anita, I feel sorry for my kids if they have to care for me. I make my bed as I'm crawling out of it and when I get Bill up in the morning, I don't take him out of his room until I've stripped the bed and remade it. Just a habit, it's seldom that I go back into either room until bedtime so if I don't make it then it won't get made. But if I don't go back in until bedtime, I guess I won't see it and with my memory, I won't remember.