Happy Halloween!

At M's school they made their own costumes. My little girl and her best friend are both Minnie Mouse. (Minnie Mice?)


Here's C as the most ornery pirate boy ever. Aaaarg!
Just moments later he flung his pirate hat across the room.

Happy Halloween!

My Child is a Genius

Ok.
After all the heaviness of the past few weeks, I think it's time to brag now.
This amazing drawing is proof that my 3.9 y/o daughter is an Artist.
In a couple months I am taking M to see an afternoon performance of The Nutcracker Ballet, which will (naturally) be followed by milk and cookies. I am looking forward to spending some quality alone time with my little girl, who finally seems to be grown up enough to sit still in a public place. Hopefully, she will enjoy these outings together enough that we can start some sort of tradition.
So, lately our conversations have been peppered with discussions about dancing and costumes. Thus, the inspiration for this drawing she did today. Maybe it doesn't look like much to you but I can definitely see the blue ballerina dancing on a cloud. She also says that the dots in the lower left are the audience watching. The letters, of course, are her name.

This is my favorite part of being a parent...getting a glimpse into her little brain. It just keeps getting better and better.

Groundhog Day

Today is Groundhog Day. So was yesterday and the day before. Tomorrow will be Groundhog Day too for my Dad who suffers from early Alzheimers. Every day my Dad gets up, walks outside to get a newspaper and, realizing that his cars are gone, goes inside to anxiously question my mother.

Dad: "Where is my Cadillac?!"

Mom: "D (my brother) came and took it away"

Dad: "What the !*&%^! Where is the Jeep?"

Mom: "You are not allowed to drive anymore. Remember? The doctor told you and then D came and got your keys. Now he has your cars."

Dad: "I never saw a doctor. No one has ever told me not to drive! Get me the phone. I'm going to call D right now. Then I'm going to have him arrested! He will regret this for the rest of his life!"

The next day....

Dad: "Where is my Cadillac?!"

Mom: "D came and took it away"

Dad: "What the !*&%^! Where is the Jeep?"

Mom: "You are not allowed to drive anymore. Remember? The doctor told you and then D came and got your keys. Now he has your cars."

Dad: "I never saw a doctor. No one has ever told me not to drive! Get me the phone. I'm going to call D right now. Then I'm going to have him arrested! He will regret this for the rest of his life!"


My brother says he would appreciate it if we could start to deviate from the original story---tell my Dad that the cars are in the shop or that he sold them but I doubt very much that he would believe it. My poor brother has to be subjected to my dad screaming at him over the phone every morning.

I think I am going to send him flowers.

The Human Brain

I am becoming increasingly interested in the way our brains work. Specifically, the way our brains create and store memories. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that my father has early Alzheimer's or maybe because my real fear is that I might be next. Every time I wander into the kitchen and forget what I went there for I think-"Aha, this is it. This is proof that I'm losing my mind." Like my Dad I've never had a good sense of direction. This morning we took the kids on an outing and I wasn't paying attention where S (my patient husband) was driving. After a while I had no idea which bridge we'd crossed or where we were...it was troubling, to say the least. Is this what my Dad experiences every time he leaves the house? I've read that challenging your brain with puzzles helps to keep it sharp so I purchased several books of Soduku. I guess actually doing the puzzles might help. I also have occasional auditory hallucinations (usually from lack of sleep, unless this is related to LSD use in college) If I am half asleep I can be completely confused and disoriented. I think I hear doorbells ringing in the distance, people shouting out my name, etc. I also don't always recognize people if they are in a different context than I am used to--ie: if I saw my daughter's preschool teacher on a bus in a different city, I might not recognize her. Further proof is that sometimes I absent-mindedly leave things in odd places--like my keys in the refrigerator...crazy stuff like that.
God...I really hope I'm not next.

In case you were wondering, my Dad never did sign the Health Care Proxy. We are now in the process of appointing my mother to be his Legal Guardian. On Tuesday he goes back to the Neurologist where they will formally explain to him that he may no longer drive for his own safety and others. Then they will take away his car keys.

My mother says she is filled with anxiety and is having trouble sleeping in anticipation of all this.

If I start to lose my mind when I get old, I promise you, my husband and children, that I will try really hard not to make your life Hell.