I enjoyed your visit Karen. It was nice talking to someone who knows what is going on.

For everyone else, Karen is good company. I didn't even let her sit down before giving her a basket of clothes to fold. She's good at folding, but you have to get after her to not just leave them on the bed after they are folded. I had to tell her to take them off the bed so I could put Bill in it. But she did take them off when told. So if you need a clothes folder, just let Karen know.

By the way Karen, I usually have to do two loads a day, so if you're not busy .................

I also enjoyed our visit, Joyce. Now that I've found your house, I'll have to come back again, and again, and again.....
And thanks for the kind words about my folding abilities.....may I use you as a reference if I ever apply for a clothes-folding job?????

For those of you who have not yet figured it out, Joyce is really good people. She is warm, kind, funny, and a very gracious hostess. I witnessed first hand the love she and Bill still share, and it moved me deeply.

BTW, Bill is as cute as he can be! And although he didn't talk above a whispered mumble while I was there, he reacted in kind to the greetings of the VERY LOUD social worker when she stopped in unexpectedly.

(Why do so many in the health care industry think that people with AD are hard of hearing? )

I hope we'll be able to get together again. And I urge any of you who are close enough together to try to visit in person. It's great to be able to put faces with the names and personalities we know here on the forum.

Karenlee and Joyce,
Sounds like you both had a wonderful time. Sounds like something I would do either way, be the folder or the one that hands the folding. What wonderful friendships develop from this AD journey we are or have been on.

And yes, take Karenlee's advice. If you ever, ever get a chance to meet anyone on this forum, please do so. They are like no other friends you've ever had. When you meet them, you feel like you have known them forever, and the comfort level starts immediatly.

I've met Lori, Ann R, Snicks and Nancy. Snicks and I are going to have the opportunity to meet Joyce43 in March. We are so thrilled and so looking forward to our meeting. SHe will be coming to the Chicago area to visit with her daughter for a confirmation. I already have my menu partially planned depending at what meal she will be here for. And if she'll be here for all three, then that much easier!!

And we also need to get in touch with Eileen V. I guess I just did that huh? Are you listening Eileen??? You will be meeting with us right? We really want you to get together with us. I haven't yet had a chance to pm you, but since Joyce was posting this, I'll just do it here. Let us know, and please come and join us.

And please, anyone thats close in the chicago area, please let us know. We don't want to leave anyone out, and sometimes we just don't all remember where everyone is from. (you know, that caregivers dementia thing) So, caregivers party, my house, end of March.

Jackie

It is amazing to meet each other and I also urge people to do it if they have the opportunity to do so. I know for me, and I think I can speak for the others, that the feeling was almost overpowering when we finally got to meet each other whom we had given support to and received it, felt their love from so many miles away and then to be able to see them...to actually meet in person was just surreal. I never wanted our time together to end.

How far away do you both live from each other? Hopefully not a great distance so you can visit often. So thrilled you both got to meet:)

You are all right in saying there is such a closeness when you finally meet someone from here.

Try to imagine having a stranger walk up to your door for the first time and you take them into the bedroom to fold clothes. If it were anyone other than a forum friend, I would run and close the bedroom door so they wouldn't even see the clothes.

It is like meeting an old friend, and hard to believe you've never seen this person before.

Karen, I do two loads of clothes every day, so if the car is running you're always welcome. But the next time you have to at least have a cup of coffee. When you called to say you were coming, I went in and baked cookies and even cupcakes, but you wouldn't even let me make a pot of coffee for you. The next time the coffee will already be made and you will have to drink it because I'm not a coffee drinker and it can't go to waste.
I may not even make you fold clothes. If I do, the next time I will show you where the go so you can put them away also.

This is all so totally coooool !
I've met one person in person so far--Ann R.--and
may be meeting Skygirl should she venture out this
way for all the inaugural celebrations.
Hey, Jackie, I was born in Chicago... so I'll be with
you all in spirit.
Carol

I'll be glad to see everyone in Chicago (area). Just hope I can get respite set up and even a few extra days. I'm working on it. It sounds like we could have enough people for a party.

Hey, what about all of us in the state of Washington. You guys should all come out this way too. We could go across the border and visit Canada. By the way I'm not talking about Seattle either. There is more to the state than that. Let me know when someone is up around the Oroville area.

It takes me twenty minutes to get to Canada and I haven't been there in years. Not since Bill got sick.

I have never been to Washington and wouldn't mind coming, but it would be a little far to make it on a five day respite.

There must be others besides you Linda that lives in Washington. Get them all together someday. The Michigan bunch got together a couple of years ago and had a great time. We didn't get everyone but there was five of us.

Calling all Washington people, where are you?