Alzheimer's And Me

Caring for a parent with dementia is the most rewarding and difficult thing in the world. It's not so bad in the early stages, where conversation is still pleasant, and your parent can still function fairly normally. The middle stage isn't bad either; they can still understand what you talk about, if you keep the words simple and direct.
It's rewarding in the early stage, because you can tap into their long term memory, and keep conversations light about the fun times they remember when they were young, learn about them more. It was good for me, because my mother never devoted as much attention to me as she did my other 3 siblings. It helped me form a better bond with her.
Her diagnosis of dementia was already nearing the end of the first stage, in the second year I began caring for her and my father. That's when we refurbished their house. I included her on everything we undertook because she liked interior decorating, had a good eye for colors and loved the whole process from start to finish. We discovered that every time we asked her to help choose, she went for dark colors every time. Finally we brought only samples of lighter colors in the same color family, so the house wouldn't look like a cavern.
Now, after 8 long years, my mother is in the final stage- she has no short term memory whatsoever, her long term memory is just about gone. She's 81, but in her head, she's 19, at college, and is waiting for her parents to come get her for the summer break. She packs her clothes, some of her personal items(which never include normal things like toothbrush, comb, brush or underwear). She doesn't recognize any of her own children, or her grandchildren, and is completely flabbergasted when we tell her she's a great-grandmother as well.
Her books collect dust now; she says she reads the front page of the newspaper, but when we ask what she's read, she can't tell us. She doesn't recognize her own reflection, because she's 19 inside, and continually tries to rub off her liver spots on her hands and arms.
She hoards things now, like napkins, paper cups; the occasional flatware, cup or glass.
Today, she had a moment of lucidity, but I wasn't aware at first. She finished dinner, I was in another room. She brought her plate, and glass to the kitchen, but left the fork at the table; the knife was in the sink with the cup. But the bowl was nowhere to be found! I looked in her room, the usual place she hoards stuff. No luck! Finally my husband looked in the dishwasher, and there it was- she's wiped it clean, and put it in the rack with the others. Some days ARE diamonds. :)

Drama Queens

Drama queens- we all know one or two. I'm not talking about young children. I'm talking about adults, who should know better than to start rumors, arguments, or tell flat-out lies about others. It's wrong, and at some level they know it's wrong. But they tell themselves what they're doing is right, that they are exposing "sins"(character flaws) in those they target. They will, if necessary, exaggerate and even set up, situations to prove they're right. One drama queen I know uses invisible third parties to back her up on these exaggerations and situations. And with each passing day, the number has increased to an entire block, not just neighbors, as before.

I personally believe drama queens thrive on discord, play on new people's sympathies for the way they've been mistreated by others who told them off! When someone has had enough of their constant state of being permanently pissed, & uses truth to tell them off, what really gets me~ it rolls right off them, like oil on water. The truth of things has no place in the heart and mind of a drama queen, unless they're telling you their own version of truth. Which has a lot of truth, some of which has been omitted or white-washed.

One woman here at Facebook, a friend of someone I know and love like a son, is a drama queen. She creates discord where none exists. She commits criminal acts, and passes them off as the result of 'pms'. Yes! I kid you not. She wants to be perceived as a loyal friend, and took my friend in when he had no where else to go. Then set up a situation, causing his car to be stolen in order to comply with her apartment complex's rules. Claiming she was intimidated. I don't know how she felt intimidated, when she felt at ease breaking & entering, then vandalizing, ANOTHER good friend's apartment.

Yes, this is one drama queen in need of psychiatric supervision, and possibly in dire need of medication. She needs to be in control, negatively, at all times, of all her friends, and driving away all their friends. She is totally unaware she's driving everyone away. She truly believes she's clever; so sad that she doesn't know she's a fool.