I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner, but recently I joined two online dementia caregiver groups via Facebook.

It’s been beneficial. Not only am I learning from people slightly ahead of me in the process, I can share what I’ve learned to those coming behind me. It’s validating at a time when I seem to be questioning whether I’m doing enough.

The best part, it’s online and always available. I don’t have to try to meet at a specific time and I can scroll through older posts to see what I’ve missed.

I’ve also realized how lucky I have it. Jim is late stage 6 on the Reisburg Scale. It’s usually just the two of us in our home, so it’s quiet, calm and it’s easy for me to control the environment.  Without meds, he sleeps a lot and is docile.

I’ve learned this is a true luxury.

I suspect I won’t be as lucky as my mother starts down this same road. My sweet, softspoken mom is already showing signs of being ornery as she ages. While we are no where near time to have her tested, we notice her high-level/complex comprehension and reasoning seem to be slipping.

Happily, she’s doing everything in her power to delay mental health issues. She reads, knits, plays computer games like solitaire and mahjong, does word and jigsaw puzzles offline, and has an active social life. She sings in the church choir and plays shuffleboard most weeks. After her heart attack a few years ago, she’s been watchful of her diet. Dementia may be coming for her but she’s going to fight it with everything she has… unfortunately, I can see this will include fighting me ever step of the way.

By the time autumn hit in 2022, maintaining the blog felt like just another chore to do instead of the therapeutic outlet it had been. Recently, I’ve missed it. Special thanks to Jane for asking the question, “Does anyone in this group have a blog?” It’s motivated me to dust off the dashboard and get back to it.