Another movie night that was fantastically successful. What started off to be a very trying and difficult night ended in such a fantastic way I actually felt like I was the movie. I arrived at my mothers house at the same time with food-the menu tonight...You guessed it; chicken, rice, and lima beans. That is my staple dish for my mother, she eats it all and actually smiles while doing it. My father is there and says his goodbyes. I decide to get down to business and address her bathing tonight. She refuses to take a bath stating that she is clean. Her hair is greased over and it has been two weeks since her last one. She is battling a yeast infection and I mention that it will help her. That was the magic phrase and she is willing to clean up. She tries to use the bathroom and I notice that she is now having difficulty as it is in her undies. She also is having trouble wiping as it is still on her. I herd her into the bathroom and she is quiet distraught. She keeps asking me what she is going to do and how do we do it. I calmly explain that we are going to relax in the water. She tries to use the bathroom again and waits patiently as I fill the tub. I wash her hair and her body. She is down to 100lbs not too much weight has been lost and for that I am grateful. While she is bathing she starts to talk about the Alzheimer's. She actually said "I should not be able to talk like this. I am getting worse, I went for a walk and did not recognize my neighborhood. But I am able to talk.." I asked her about how it felt, how she felt, what it was like. She said it is horrible. She bangs into things and cannot walk right, she gets hurt all the time, but mostly it is frustrating. We reminisce about her mother and how it was for her. My eyes tear up listening to her and wishing it was not like this. The bath goes so well and my reward is a simple compliment so rare now a days. She said that I am her best friend and she loves these nights. My heart does flip flops and my face wears a smile that will be there for a while.

Bathtime over and she is complaining of a rash. I look at her rash and realize that we need a trip to the obgyn. Unfortunately, she has not let us take her to the dentist so first a trip to the dentist to get the partial and then to the obgyn. I dress her and I talk her into letting me wash the floor. She does not understand why I need to wash it for it will only get dirty again. I organize the movies with her and finally we are off to watch one. My mother decides that the air is not right and we work on that for another half an hour. This is after my father did the same thing. However, tonight I show her how to have the air blow away from her and she likes it. She really likes it. I am jumping up and down inside my head praying that this time she leaves it alone. The thought of her adjusting and readjusting all the air vents in the house just makes me cringe. She can barely get in and out of the tub and here she is trying to stand on things and use brooms or butter knives to adjust vents.

We settle down and watch the movie. Mom hates and and wishes we would have watched a different one. This always happens when there are two choices of movies like tonight. She wanted either Minority Report or Someone like you. She believes I only like romances and so she picked the Someone like you. Me like romance....Are you crazy. Not only do I absolutely hate movies, but chick flicks are a def no no. The funniest part is this is all I get to watch. Watching the movie was delightful though. She because so calm and relaxed and friendly. I love these moments when I see a bit of my mother. After the movie was the greatest part. For the first time in months, I actually held a conversation with my mom. She was interested in hearing about Mackenzie and Connor and let me talk rather than do all the attempted talking. We laughed at Mackenzie's antics and Connor's stubborn nature. She even agreed to let Mackenize and I sleep over on Monday nights and for me to sleep over on Fridays. As much as I am reluctant to leave my home, I cannot stand the thought of her alone all the time. Unbeknown to my dad, tomorrow Kenzie is going up with him for a play date. She misses Kenzie and wants to play with her. She is hoping to watch Shirley Temple with her. Try as I might to spare my poor daughter the agony of sitting through Captain January or Blue Bird, I realize that it is a right of passage with my mother. Although Kenzie is not old enough to attend to such movies, my mother will not be able to wait for that age so....Shirley temple it is. A great end to such a crazy week. Sorry my posts have slowed down. I have been working feverishly on the social security case and will post our statements this weekend. Please let me know what you think about it or any other suggestions for this upcoming trial. Also, I have finals so I am running.