Yesterday, Mike and I bundled up Muddear and ran a gazillion errands! We left the house around 1:15 in the afternoon and did not return until 9:30 that night.
Muddear was great! She ate cookies offered by the managers at the furniture store. She ate Gold Star Chili while I made numerous returns and exchanges at the mall. And accidentally locked us out of the car when Mike and I quickly ran into HH Greg to purchase a television. We were tickled that Muddear momentarily forgot what button to push to let us back into the car.
Overall Muddear had a really good time. It was wonderful to get out of the house WITH my darling husband than without him. We often spend little time together outside of the house, because one of us must stay at home with Muddear so the other can run errands. It was great once again to find pleasure in the mundane.
As the evening wore on, I could tell that Muddear was getting tired as we all were. During our last stop - HH Greg - Muddear mentioned that the bathroom was calling her name. She reasurred us that a special stop at a restaurant would not be necessary as long as we were heading straight home after this stop. Within 10 minutes after this conversation, we were pulling into the familiar spot in our driveway.
Muddear, looking quite alarmed, stated "I thought we were going home! I don't live here - I moved a couple of months ago!"
Go figure!
Showing posts with label errands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label errands. Show all posts
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Saturday, August 25, 2007
A Change of Mind
Tonight when getting Muddear ready for bed, she notified me that it was time to purchase new gowns. Why? The gown that she was wearing had splits on the side and that was unacceptable. According to Muddear, she only liked to wear gowns that did not allow her body to show. The only thing I could do was shake my head, because just a few months ago, Muddear thought the new gowns I purchased for her with splits on each side were sexy. I guess we all are allowed to change our minds.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Sunday Errands - The Mall - Pictures
If you thought Muddear's selections were cute. Check out the gown she helped me select during our Sunday Errands - The Mall. There was no fussing about too short, too tight, or too dark!
Sunday Errands - The Mall - Pictures
The fun did not stop at Walgreen's. The next leg of our Sunday outing was the mall, see post dated Thursday, June 7, 2007 Sunday Errands - The Mall for all the fun details. Check out Muddear in the height of glory...shopping!
Sunday Errands - Going to Walgreens - Pictures
Our Sunday errands were a lot of fun. See Sunday Errands - Going to Walgreens post dated Tuesday, June 5, 2007. This first picture is right before the "lock/unlock" lesson.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Sexy
Every night Muddear and I complete her bedtime routine.
- Medicine and inhaler at 8:00 p.m.
- Muddear selects and puts on fresh gown at 8:30 p.m.
- Medicine and breathing treatment at 9:00 p.m.
- Cleanse and medicate skin affected by skin infection at 9:30 p.m.
- Final inhaler at 9:30 p.m.
Sometimes I am a half hour or so off our routine, but for the most part Muddear knows what to expect. Tonight during gown selection, Muddear began to study her gown of choice pretty intensely. Warning bells started to go off in my head - Muddear was inspecting one of the new gowns I recently purchased. She just sat there staring at the gown for what seemed like an eternity. I thought, "please, oh please Lord...don't let this be the beginning of an argument. I really cannot deal with an argument with Muddear tonight."
Out of the blue, Muddear says, "Ooohh, this gown has slits on both sides!" For those of you who have read the post Shopping for Gowns dated Thursday, May 17, 2007, you know that this violates Muddear's gown specifications! At this point, I began mentally preparing for an argument. So, I ignored the comment and kept watching television. So Muddear says again...
"Ooohh, this gown has slits on both sides! How SEXY!"
I thought I would explode with laughter. Fortunately I was able to keep my composure when I responded.
"Yes, Muddear...that gown is sexy." Now who would have thought?
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Sunday Errands - The Mall
After leaving Walgreen's, we quickly utilized Arby's drive-through as Muddear was "starving" and proceeded on our journey to the Mall. I might add that she was quite excited to go to the mall. Shopping has always been a favorite pastime for Muddear. I think it is generational considering I have been afflicted with the abnormality since birth.
Our number one goal was to return a defective duster or dress as Muddear likes to call them to Dillard's. Several days prior to vacation I bought two new dusters for Muddear, however, this specific duster was beginning to fall apart after one wash - needless to say, I was not happy about it. Muddear really liked this particular duster, it was pink and white striped, and was looking forward to getting a replacement. As usual, there are specific requirements. Thankfully, duster requirements are not as restrictive as gown requirements.
Duster requirements include:
1. Light colors
2. Calf length when sitting
3. Nothing fitted
4. Absolutely nothing sleeveless or low cut
Fortunately, duster manufacturers make these requirements easy to achieve. I am always amazed at the number of existing duster options. Who would have believed that so many woman wear dusters! For the older generations...muumuus!
Upon arrival at the mall, Muddear was like a kid in a candy shop! She was full of questions: "What mall is this? Where are we located, what community? What store is this? How long has it been here? Is it bigger than Shillitos?" When was the last time you heard the name Shillitos? ... (Her questions addressed the things we as healthy individuals without Dementia/Alzheimer's take for granted.)
Muddear was so much fun. She wanted to see all of the duster options. I watched her feel the different materials, stretch out the body to make sure it would not be too tight, evaluate the design. I was reminded of myself. Muddear was an active participant in this shopping excursion - she wanted me to place her wheelchair right in the middle of all the duster racks. Initially Muddear would ask my opinion about the colors and sizes, however, when she asked me to choose for her, I could tell the sheer number of duster options was becoming overwhelming. At one point, she decided that she did not want anything - not even a replacement for the duster we were returning. After several reassurances that the dusters would fit, were the right length, and were, definitely on sale Muddear finally chose two.
Dillard's was having such a great sale; I even decided to purchase a few gowns for myself. After choosing the dusters, Muddear began to relax and enjoyed helping me pick out my gowns. The only moment of confusion...Muddear struggled with the concept of small, medium, and large size descriptions. I think she asked me 10 times if a size small was equal to a one, because she was too little to wear a small. She kept saying, "Don’t these come in sizes for little people like me?"
"Yes Muddear, a small is for little people like you. Actually, one of your dusters is a petite small and the other is a regular small. Don't worry, the only difference is the length." Fortunately, "petite" rang a bell; unfortunately, the concept of small was still quite mind-boggling. After an hour and a half of shopping, we finally left the mall. Muddear was excited to have two new dresses and out of the blue decided she now needed to purchase a new half slip to wear the next time she went to church. (No how long do you think it has been since Muddear went to church?) I had to be quick witted - I had no intentions of going slip shopping! Distraction proved to be the key for getting out of that one.
After ringing up our purchases, Muddear was already asking about the next stop. Stay tuned for the conclusion of Sunday Errands... :-)
Our number one goal was to return a defective duster or dress as Muddear likes to call them to Dillard's. Several days prior to vacation I bought two new dusters for Muddear, however, this specific duster was beginning to fall apart after one wash - needless to say, I was not happy about it. Muddear really liked this particular duster, it was pink and white striped, and was looking forward to getting a replacement. As usual, there are specific requirements. Thankfully, duster requirements are not as restrictive as gown requirements.
Duster requirements include:
1. Light colors
2. Calf length when sitting
3. Nothing fitted
4. Absolutely nothing sleeveless or low cut
Fortunately, duster manufacturers make these requirements easy to achieve. I am always amazed at the number of existing duster options. Who would have believed that so many woman wear dusters! For the older generations...muumuus!
Upon arrival at the mall, Muddear was like a kid in a candy shop! She was full of questions: "What mall is this? Where are we located, what community? What store is this? How long has it been here? Is it bigger than Shillitos?" When was the last time you heard the name Shillitos? ... (Her questions addressed the things we as healthy individuals without Dementia/Alzheimer's take for granted.)
Muddear was so much fun. She wanted to see all of the duster options. I watched her feel the different materials, stretch out the body to make sure it would not be too tight, evaluate the design. I was reminded of myself. Muddear was an active participant in this shopping excursion - she wanted me to place her wheelchair right in the middle of all the duster racks. Initially Muddear would ask my opinion about the colors and sizes, however, when she asked me to choose for her, I could tell the sheer number of duster options was becoming overwhelming. At one point, she decided that she did not want anything - not even a replacement for the duster we were returning. After several reassurances that the dusters would fit, were the right length, and were, definitely on sale Muddear finally chose two.
Dillard's was having such a great sale; I even decided to purchase a few gowns for myself. After choosing the dusters, Muddear began to relax and enjoyed helping me pick out my gowns. The only moment of confusion...Muddear struggled with the concept of small, medium, and large size descriptions. I think she asked me 10 times if a size small was equal to a one, because she was too little to wear a small. She kept saying, "Don’t these come in sizes for little people like me?"
"Yes Muddear, a small is for little people like you. Actually, one of your dusters is a petite small and the other is a regular small. Don't worry, the only difference is the length." Fortunately, "petite" rang a bell; unfortunately, the concept of small was still quite mind-boggling. After an hour and a half of shopping, we finally left the mall. Muddear was excited to have two new dresses and out of the blue decided she now needed to purchase a new half slip to wear the next time she went to church. (No how long do you think it has been since Muddear went to church?) I had to be quick witted - I had no intentions of going slip shopping! Distraction proved to be the key for getting out of that one.
After ringing up our purchases, Muddear was already asking about the next stop. Stay tuned for the conclusion of Sunday Errands... :-)
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Sunday Errands - Going to Walgreens
Muddear never likes to leave the house and as I am sure you have gleaned from previous posts it is not uncommon for her to become argumentative when required to do something she doesn't want to do. Which is why I usually leave her at home - I know, I suck! Nevertheless, it is my opinion that this behavior is very unhealthy and a change of scenery and a breath of fresh air always does the body and the mind some good.
So last Sunday, I had errands to run and thought taking Muddear along for the ride would be a lot of fun for both of us. The first stop was at Walgreen's, the local pharmacy. I needed to purchase the Sunday paper for my husband and I decided at the last minute to purchase a disposable camera to capture photos of Muddear while running errands. (The pictures have not been loaded on disk yet, but will be soon for upload and viewing.) Okay on to the rest of the story...
I am often amazed at how tasks that seem very simple to me are often somewhat complex for Muddear. Considering that I only had two things to grab from Walgreen's, it really did not make sense to unload Muddear and her wheelchair for a five-minute errand. With that decision made, I knew that due to the warm weather it would be necessary to leave the car running with the air conditioning on. (I really do not think having my mugshot flashed on the five o'clock news for neglect of the elderly would enhance by credibility as a caregiver.) While Muddear is not a potential flight risk, I am always a little nervous about leaving her in an unlocked running vehicle. Call me paranoid, but we live in a world of sickos!
Therefore, before getting out of the car I had to give Muddear a five-minute lesson on how to lock and unlock the doors. After a few practice runs, my confidence was shaky, but I exited the car - making sure that I had my cell phone in the event Muddear forgot the "procedure" before I returned. I must admit, she was absolutely adorable! I could see her mind working every time I would say...
"Okay Muddear go ahead and lock the door."
"Now unlock the door."
Then there was her slight smile of accomplishment when I said..."Good job! I knew you could do it!"
I was in and out of Walgreen's in flash and onto errand number two...THE MALL!
So last Sunday, I had errands to run and thought taking Muddear along for the ride would be a lot of fun for both of us. The first stop was at Walgreen's, the local pharmacy. I needed to purchase the Sunday paper for my husband and I decided at the last minute to purchase a disposable camera to capture photos of Muddear while running errands. (The pictures have not been loaded on disk yet, but will be soon for upload and viewing.) Okay on to the rest of the story...
I am often amazed at how tasks that seem very simple to me are often somewhat complex for Muddear. Considering that I only had two things to grab from Walgreen's, it really did not make sense to unload Muddear and her wheelchair for a five-minute errand. With that decision made, I knew that due to the warm weather it would be necessary to leave the car running with the air conditioning on. (I really do not think having my mugshot flashed on the five o'clock news for neglect of the elderly would enhance by credibility as a caregiver.) While Muddear is not a potential flight risk, I am always a little nervous about leaving her in an unlocked running vehicle. Call me paranoid, but we live in a world of sickos!
Therefore, before getting out of the car I had to give Muddear a five-minute lesson on how to lock and unlock the doors. After a few practice runs, my confidence was shaky, but I exited the car - making sure that I had my cell phone in the event Muddear forgot the "procedure" before I returned. I must admit, she was absolutely adorable! I could see her mind working every time I would say...
"Okay Muddear go ahead and lock the door."
"Now unlock the door."
Then there was her slight smile of accomplishment when I said..."Good job! I knew you could do it!"
I was in and out of Walgreen's in flash and onto errand number two...THE MALL!
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