Maria Shriver's March on Alzheimer's - October 24, 2010 - Long Beach, CA

Join us for the Memory Walk for a cure for Alheimer's! It's easy for you and so important for your children!
Finding a cure or at least a blood test for early diagnoses is very important to me! My mother was stricken with Alzheimer's in her early 60s. She now lives in a care home. She wears diapers, and doesn't know me or remember the last 20 years of her life. As time goes by she is loosing her speech and slowly waisting away. This is a cruel horrible way to die! For family members it is so painful and so costly!! To date it affects 5.3 million people world wide. The numbers grow every year as we live longer and find cures and treatments for other ailments. Check out the Alzheimer's web page for info on the disease and find the date for the Memory Walk in your area. Lets do this for our children!

Holy Guacamole!

This morning began with a pancake breakfast at my mother’s Alzheimer’s care home. (see previous post) This alone on top of menopause symptoms was full day for me.  Later that same day we went to a adult birthday party. Let me set this up for you. I am what most people would call a white English speaking American. (Irish / German immigrant), whatever that means. My son is dating a Mexican girl named Cindy. Her father speaks great English her Mother is learning. The party was for the mother.

The birthday girl

 My excitement of this day was the food. I knew there was going to be some authentic lip smacking food and alcohol! When we arrived we were offered beer or margaritas. I had a margarita, and hubby had a cerveza. Then the food prep begins. I asked if I could help. The method of my madness was to observe. I was handed a bag of avocados and a spoon. Guacamole, by a white girl at a Mexican party? Are you sure?  Then I looked outside and hubby was helping to light the bar b q. We all giggled. It was strange being the minority for once. The three of us were the only "non-Mexican" guests there.

Hubby, me, and Cindy shaking the camera.

The food turned out great and I ate too much. The guests were enjoying every last bite of what my son and I called the “white girl guacamole”.  We joked that an Anchor man and camera crew were going to expose the secret at the end of the party. We ate and laughed and hubby drank. I mean he took shots of tequila. I had a few shots with an hour or two in between. Him, not so much. He and others got pretty drunk. It was all fun, and no issues. That was until I got him home. I tried to get him to drink some water. It was too late for water. To say the least I was cleaning the bathroom at 10:00 at night.  He woke up Sunday morning to get ready for a plane ride from California to Montana still drunk he says.  

Hubby and Cindys brother partaking.

I think the party is what I needed to get my mind off “things”. This last week has been really difficult for me dealing with menopause. I’m not sleeping, my stomach is bothering me, and I am grumpy! Really grumpy! So I little R& R was good for me. 

The birthday girl and me after our shots.

So hubby is off to Montana for a few days and I hate being alone. SO wish me luck this week. 

Saturday started with Alzheimer's and pancakes then ended with Tequila!

I had no idea what my Saturday had in store for me. I had it all planned out. I was attending a pancake breakfast at my Mothers Alzheimer's home benefit for Alzheimer's in the AM. Then I would take a little bike ride with hubby and the afternoon attend a adult birthday party at my sons girl friends parents house. Sounds interesting huh? It was!

When I woke up I was feeling “out of sorts”. I had a rough night sleep and my head was pounding already. Just some of the wonderful menopause symptoms I have lately. I left my house that morning for the pancake breakfast with a 5 lb chocolate bar my company donated for a raffle and hubby in tow. On arrival I was happy to see a big turnout for the breakfast. A few weeks back I was brain storming with the assistant director. I suggested asking the cooking school around the corner for chefs to volunteer. She asked the school and several inspiring chefs volunteered to help on the grills. The local Starbucks donated coffee, IHOP donated pancake batter, and Raley’s Foods donated berries. I wish I remembered to take pictures of the spread.

 We found a table and I went looking for my mom. Unless you know someone with this disease you may not know what it is like to walk through the halls of such a care home. Interesting to say the least! Alzheimer’s affects its patients differently. So here I am walking through the halls looking for my mom who at this stage of her life has become a marathon runner or something. Her attention span is that of a toddler, and she doesn’t sit in one place long. So I ask her nurses and they all remember seeing her at opposite ends of the building. I find her sitting in the common area. So I have her walk with me outside to sit with us. Her nurses gave her a shower and her hair was still slightly wet. Too bad because there were some clouds and it was breezy so she got cold but couldn't communicate it and it made her cry. I asked her not to cry, and that I would get her a blanket. Just then for a split second she recognized me. I could see it in her face. Then the tears started for both of us. She usually mumbles but just then she kept saying she was sorry it wasn't her fault. I felt so sad. I had a nurse get her a blanket but she wanted to go inside. I went to stand in the food line with my husband and let him hold me while a cried.

 I later went looking for my mom and some nurses directed me to another patient’s room where she was quietly sitting watching an infomercial. Yuck. I asked her if she want to come outside and eat but I couldn’t get her attention. So I brought her breakfast to her and her nurse fed her. I did get her to laugh and smile then I said my goodbyes and left. As least I made her smile.

The visit with my mom got me shook up. I was already out of it when I woke up. When I got home I knew I needed to do something to get my mind off the visit. It was too breezy to ride bikes hubby said so we went to the Home Depot to buy a plant for the birthday party later and to the pet store. We found a nice plant and bought frozen shrimp and cat treats. A successful shopping trip. I brought the plant inside to clean up but I forgot to bring the frozen shrimp in until 2 hours later. The stress of the day got the best of me and I wasn’t thinking straight. It makes me so mad. Then my head pounds harder.  I still had a birthday party to attend.

Cont,,,,,,

(next post, Holy Guacamole!)