Folding. Mom tends to do a lot of this now. Usually she collects individual squares of toilet paper or Kleenex. She then folds, creases, folds and creases until she can’t fold anymore. These pieces of paper treasures are hidden in shoes, pockets, under her pillow or placed in drawers. I’m not sure what the reasoning is behind the folding. I do know the repetitiveness tends to soothe her.
If you listen closely, Mom is breathing heavy. It seems to be an anxiety reflex. After mom began folding, she tuned me and Lisa out. As she concentrated on the wash cloths the heavy breathing subsided. Besides folding, this activity encouraged sorting. It is a great activity for people struggling with dementia. (It also covers a multitude of fine motor and academic skills for teachers/parents of young children.) 😄
Mom folded everything in the basket. The timing was perfect because she was getting antsy. Luckily a friend came over and lead mom away. It was an easy departure for me and Lisa (my son’s girlfriend shares the same name as I).😁
These are the moments that we need to hold on to. The lady (purple pants) walking with mom is one of her table mates. Jane can carry on nice conversations and in the next sentence make you blush as she spews crazy cuss words. The first time I sat at the dinner table with them, I called her Jan instead of Jane! Have mercy, my first thought was that I needed to take cover! The nurses kindly calmed her down, I told her how pretty her name, ‘Jane’ was and she became my new best friend! No matter the anger that may surface, there is an even stronger force of love coming out. It may look different, but it is real! Look with your heart! It is everywhere, even when hiding behind dementia! (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
Lolli 