GRANDMA FROGGER's BIBLE

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT THIS BOOK IS THAT IT IS GOD'S WORD.  IT'S CALLED THE BIBLE.
It is a book with many books in it.
It is a book that comes from God and many of God's men who wrote those books.
The Bible is more than just made up stories.
It is more than just facts and history.  It helps us to saving faith in God.
But the MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT THIS BOOK IS THAT IT IS GOD'S WORD.I always get excited at finding stories such as the following.  I love celebrating. I love the significance of this day , DIA DE LA BIBLIA, a day set aside to honor God’s Word, was celebrated once a year in the churches around Mexico( while I lived there in my earlier years,) encouraged by the Mexican Bible Society.
Celebrated as another harvest/thanksgiving  day with tamales, chicken soup, mole poblano, and Mexican fried rice, and tortillas.
The church services included a lot of singing and music, and recitations of portions of scripture.  The older young people would recite whole chapters while the younger reciting according to their age.
Everyone was encouraged to buy a Bible if they did not have one, to read it, to memorize it.  Those who were illiterate would put us to shame in the large portions memorized.

GRANDMA FROGGER's GREEN DAY

Another Frog Time story for my Grand Froglets and Frogsters.

I like to tell stories that happened way back in Frog Time.
Frogs like to hop and jump just like you do.  And that is why I like to watch you hop and jump.
My hops and jumps in Frog Time began in another country called Mexico. I was a first baby froglet in my family.  Five other froglets followed.
Father and Mother Frogger were pioneer missionaries.

 When I was just a young froglet, we did not have electricity or any running water.
And you know we frogs love water and we like it running.
We frogs also like the color GREEN.

We saw GREEN  everywhere, the avocado trees, the coffee trees, the GREEN chile bushes, the green grass, rows and rows of corn.  We ate GREEN!

We loved GREEN.  We lived in GREEN villages far from the big city. 
My back yard was a whole country side of GREEN.
I did not have many toys.
My toys were sticks & stones and anything I could find to pretend with.
  We made lots of "forts".  My favorite fort was high in the avocado tree branches with a book to read.
I only had a doll, sometimes I had two or three and I made all their clothes when I got older.
I had one or two dolls.
When I was very, very little, we did not have a car so we had to ride the bus.

On one of those bus rides I left my doll on the bus after we got off and I never saw her again.
WE ALL KNOW FROGS GO LADIDAH  Click Here to hear song

GRANDMA FROGGER'S GREEN DAY

 

ILLUSIONS

“Often it takes something major to wake us up

as we struggle to maintain an illusion of control.” ~author unknown

What strikes me about care giving is how I strive to maintain control,   keeping the illusion that my day is under control and to those outside my immediate realm of daily activities it may appear to be so.

Still, day after day I trudge along repeating myself in more ways than one, until emotional energy is drained and exhaustion sets in for lack of sleep

Just this morning, as I was experimenting with my new photo editing app., I found the option for illusions and got to thinking how to others our lives may appear to be an illusion. And lest you get the illusion that I spend most of my time on the computer, I'll leave it to your imagination or assumptions.   I call it a form of respite.

 Our fb timelines are full of photos and quotes to give us the misconceptions that everything is hunky dorie in everyone's life until a call for prayer, an untimely death or major event happens bursting our control button.
The following is an illusion to my authorship as I would have liked to create the illusion that I was the author.  In reality it is not I but a fellow care giver who will remain anonymous but so

words it as I might have. 

"The impression of my life I like to project is something like this:
I daily awaken with a song in my heart, smile on my face and the energy of a speeding bullet, throw on my cape and jump into action heading out into the world to see who I can save.  Or my alternate-ego of humble servant, just shy of Mother Teresa sacrificing myself for the well-being of those around me.
The reality looks more like this:
I wake up exhausted and VERY crabby, (my husband can verify this, he doesn’t speak to me in the morning in fear for his life).  I usually only sleep for a few hours of sleep, because of my constant mind-chatter.  I check my calendar and pray that I didn’t forget to put in an appointment or accidentally double book myself.  I create an overloaded to-do list that  includes roll-over items from the days/weeks before.  I attempt to answer messages left on one of 2 phones or emailed to all 5 of my emails, then race out the door hoping not to be late."

Can you picture the Lord leaning over the balcony of Heaven to answer my cry?

As I re-read this to edit:  Oh how much we need to ask God for strength-grace-mercy moment to moment.

GRANDMA FROGGER's VISIT

Grandma Frogger's VISIT

Grandma Frogger visited Lily J. one day.

As Grandma Frogger showed her what she looked like in Frog Time, she stopped her bouncing on the sofa. She stopped running around the apartment.
When the short video ended, she said "Again Gamaw".
She watched it five times intently.
Grandma Frogger liked to live near water.  She liked to eat bugs.
She used her eyeballs to help her swallow those bugs.

Grandma Frogger has big eyes.  "The better to see you" she said. 
 I can see behind me.  I can see to my left.  I can see to my right sides.
She liked to see everything around her.  Grandma Frogger did not want to miss anything.
She liked to visit her grand tad pollies. 

Adventures ~The Carousel

What makes a successful adventure with those who may have dementia or Alzheimer's?

THE CAROUSEL ADVENTURE 

It begins with the assessment of your care giving environment for that day.

When you walk in that door at the beginning of your shift, has the loved one had a good night of rest?  Did the loved one have a good breakfast?  Is the loved one in any pain? 

 Does your loved one look alert?

  Do you have a team helper?  Is the loved one co-operative and able to follow some very basic instructions to get into the car and out or other basic instructions to their ability?  Are they already exhausted from all the activities of breakfast, showering and getting dressed?

 What are their abilities?  Go with the intention of expectations and adventures you may not have expected?  Keep the cell phone out of sight and enjoy the adventure yourself.

Your plans may just begin to get to the mall on a hot day but a good care giver is attuned to the loved ones interest at the moment.

Is the loved one expressing an interest in something as you walk to your goal?  Take advantage of that interest. What are his eyes telling you?  What is he setting his gaze on? 

I have found that spending approximately two hours is the ideal time to spend on outings.  After that expect disinterest and or zoning out or taking a nap in the wheel chair. 

 I try to schedule the outings at around mid-morning, during the week when crowds are minimal.  Occasionally we have arrived around the time the school children have field trips so then we slightly change our plans and head for another  quieter area.

On this particular day, we drove to the mall.  As we made our entrance, we noticed the carousel.  Our loved one noticed and paused to take in its sight.  Noticing it somewhat, yet difficult to know if his interest would peak if we got a closer view, we headed for the lower level.  I noticed his eyes resting on the working parts of it as it was going around.

By the time we arrived down at the lower level, the carousel had stopped, a few children got off and the carousel was now empty.

After paying the operator, our loved one appeared to  eager to climb on board. He and my team member were now the only ones on.  The operator did not seem to mind that they were the only ones on board. As the carousel went around, again his gaze seemed to linger on the working parts. 

When the ride ended, he did not want to get off.  It took much to convince him the ride had ended and we needed to get off.

 

As you watch toward the last of this second video, you can follow the loved ones gaze toward the workings of the carousel.