"Little By Little, One Walks far"

If I can, I always opt to ditch my name tag in a dementia care environment. I let my friends with dementia decide what my name is: I’ve been Susan, Gwendolyn, and various peoples’ kids. I’ve been so many identities to my residents, too: a coworker, a boss, a student, a sibling, a friend from home, and more. 

Don’t ask your friend with dementia if they “remember your name” — especially if that person is your parent, spouse, or other family member. It’s quite likely to embarrass them if they can’t place you, and, frankly, it doesn’t really matter what your name is. What matters is how they feel about you.

Here’s my absolute favorite story about what I call, “Timeline Confusion”:

Alicia danced down the hallway, both hands steadily on her walker. She moved her hips from side to side, singing a little song, and smiled at everyone she passed. Her son, Nick, was walking next to her.

Nick was probably one of the best caregivers I’d ever met. It wasn’t just that he visited his mother often, it was how he visited her. He was patient and kind—really, he just understood dementia care. He got it.

Alicia was what I like to call, “pleasantly confused.” She thought it was a different year than it was, liked to sing and dance, and generally enjoyed her life.

One day, I approached the pair as they walked quietly down the hall. Alicia smiled and nodded at everyone she passed, sometimes whispering a, “How do you do!”

“Hey, Alicia,” I said. “We’re having a piano player come in to sing and play music for us. Would you like to come listen?”

“Ah, yes!” she smiled back. “My husband is a great singer,” she said, motioning to her son.

Nick smiled and did not correct her. He put his hand gently on her shoulder and said to me, “We’ll be over there soon.”

I saw Nick again a few minutes later while his mom was occupied with some other residents. “Nick,” I said. “Does your mom usually think that you’re her husband?”

Nick said something that I’ll never forget.

“Sometimes I’m me, sometimes I’m my brother, sometimes I’m my dad, and sometimes I’m just a friend. But she always knows that she loves me,” he smiled.

Nick had nailed it. He understood that, because his mom thought it was 1960, she would have trouble placing him on a timeline.

He knew that his mom recognized him and he knew that she loved him. However, because of her dementia, she thought it was a different year. And, in that year, he would’ve been a teenager.

Using context clues (however mixed up the clues were) Alicia had determined that Nick was her husband: he was the right age, he sure sounded and looked like her husband, and she believed that her son was a young man.

This is the concept that I like to call timeline confusion. It’s not that your loved one doesn’t recognize you, it’s that they can’t place you on a timeline.

And here she and the statue are in a more formal setting (museum or art show, I can’t tell):

i don’t give a fuck about this show

i’ve watched like 4 episodes and most of those were with my friend’s mom (i watched 1 episode on my own and it was specifically the episode of the trans man)

this isn’t about defending the show or saying that anyone in it can never do wrong or whatever you wanna twist this post to mean

it’s saying to stop calling real living people “stereotypes” because doing so shows you don’t know what a fucking stereotype is

I know I’ve said it many times but I am SO glad I joined this gym. I’ve had a membership to three other gyms in the past and have never received a single thing back from them for free. I’ve been a member at this gym for less than a week and there are constant giveaways, member appreciation night, samples of things out of the vending machines, free fruit and there is even a rewards program where each visit turns into points that you can redeem for hoodies, drink bottles, backpacks etc + certificates for certain visit milestones.

There are also competitions to compete in which change weekly. The current two are how long can you hold an isometric push-up for and how fast can you climb 54 floors on the stairclimber, the latter which I am going to give a go this weekend as my leg muscles are getting pretty ridiculous lately.

Anyway on to my WOD: Just a light interval jog and incline lunge walk on the treadmill. Quick ride on the stationary bike, on which I produced enough energy to power a light globe for 81 minutes. Weights circuit which included: lat pull down, lat pull, chest press, leg press, bicep curls, low and high rows and weighted calf raises.

Need to get back in the habit of noting weights and reps or actually using the anytime fitness app to track everything.

I didn’t feel very strongly about having or not having kids when we first started dating. We’re both still kind of on the fence about it. But if it’s something you feel strongly about, something that is important to you, then talk about it! It’s okay to have dealbreakers like that.