This Crazy Wonderful World

[Lori]

May I recommend Wendy Mitchell's blog from today? Her beautiful observations and photos lowered my blood pressure and was a soft touchstone on a bit of a gray day for me.

https://whichmeamitoday.wordpress.com/blog/

[DawnFae]

May I recommend Wendy Mitchell's blog from today? Her beautiful observations and photos lowered my blood pressure and was a soft touchstone on a bit of a gray day for me.

https://whichmeamitoday.wordpress.com/blog/

WOW! Thanks a lot Mz. S, this brought a spontaneous smile on my face. I really enjoyed it!

[Lori]

So glad you enjoyed it!! She is someone Mz. A discovered in her wonderful work with people experiencing dementia. *See more above in this thread if you missed it because it is on the previous page.

I was thinking the information that Wendy M. gives us so generously can be applied to all elderly people in some ways. I believe often the worlds of the elderly start shrinking and their challenges can be somewhat ignored or downplayed by the bustling land of the young around them. To hone in on these people with new eyes honors their contribution and may balm their path a bit.

Great stuff!!!

[DawnFae]

As you all know, I’ve been on a huge journey with dementia over the past few years.

It all started with Will’s utterly fabulous grandmother, who was my idol. A wonderful Scottish lady who knew hundreds of poems and songs by heart, an accomplished painter, a family person through and through holding the threads of even the extensions of the extended family. She got herself a keyboard for her 80th birthday, saying it was time to learn, and so she did. When she could no longer play, she gave her keyboard to me. She had a wicked sense of humour, a sharp wit, and a heart of gold. One day we turned up on her doorstep like two little drenched bunnies after some misfortunate camping expedition nearby, in relentless rain. She patted us dry, magicked a most delicious supper from leftovers with fried bread, and tucked us into a warm bed, and made us feel like little children all safe from the storms. We adored her.

She lived to 102, and spent her last few years in a home with advanced Alzheimer’s. Yet, even the last time we visited her, she still had a twinkle in her eye, was stealing little fluffy chickens from the dining room’s Easter table displays, (she proudly showed us her stash in her handbag) and she was popping little easter eggs into her mouth with a wink, knowing she shouldn’t just before lunch. Once upon a time a whizz with the most challenging puzzles, she was happily playing with kids jigsaws, and she had a jolly happy time with us, even she no longer had the faintest idea who we were. I’ll never forget that last day we saw her, because she was so obviously happy.

Thank you for sharing these amazing memories with us Mz. A.
I love it, I love your Grandmother! She sounds like an angel to me. If one is lucky to reach the age of 102, it is a blessing! I hope her dementia years were not too long. But if she was surrounded with nice people and her grandchildren then she had a great time. Even if she didn't directly remember you, her heart knew you for sure. I believe that the heart never forgets!!!



Wendy Mitchell is such an inspirational woman! God bless! She did a lot of good work for dementia struck people and their caregivers! Enjoying life one day at a time, living in the here and now, fully and completely, that's the secret to happiness and love.
Thank you for sharing these treasures with us!

[DawnFae]

So glad you enjoyed it!! She is someone Mz. A discovered in her wonderful work with people experiencing dementia. *See more above in this thread if you missed it because it is on the previous page.

I was thinking the information that Wendy M. gives us so generously can be applied to all elderly people in some ways. I believe often the worlds of the elderly start shrinking and their challenges can be somewhat ignored or downplayed by the bustling land of the young around them. To hone in on these people with new eyes honors their contribution and may balm their path a bit.

Great stuff!!!

Hey Lori, I agree 100%!
This can certainly be applied to elderly people as they tend to forget and are a bit lost in a strange, fast world.
Yeah, young people are full of energy and also somewhat selfish. They are chasing whatever goals ad stuff and so they don't usually take time to interact with the elderly an so they lose a great opportunity to learn and become better human beings. Compassion and curiosity can bring about miracles for all of us.

[Dee]

You are inundating me with fabulous souls today! Is this Will's grandmother on his father's or mother's side may I ask? Magical lady she be. Somewhere, somehow the meaning of life is embedded like a secret to discover in these special people who model life and joy in their everyday existence. Is this an end of a era? Can we step in their shoes even a little and spread that wide of a net for those around us to be encompassed in something so wonderful? What a gift this woman was to her loved ones and the world! Thank you for sharing her with us! What is her name, please. A photo would be grand as well...

Well I’m delighted that Will’s grandma has been such a hit with you and Kat too, - who called her an Angel, and that’s the absolute truth, she was. Her name was Anne, and she was Joy’s mother, Lori.

[Dee]

I’m so happy to read Wendy Mitchell has touched your hearts.

There is this campaign to eradicate the terms ´dementia sufferers’ and ‘suffering from dementia’ and replace it with
´People with dementia’ and ‘people living with dementia’. Wendy embodies this huge difference in how look at the disease and the people who have it. Yes, there is suffering, and as the disease progresses, there is more and more suffering. But it helps no one to focus on that. We need to hold onto all the positivity we can master and enjoy what can still be enjoyed, to the very end. LIVE with dementia.

I’m also glad you’ve found Wendy’s blog as well. It’s a wonderful life affirming read.

[Dee]

You have both raised the subject of young people these days and whether this calibre of people like Will’s granny, Wendy and Lieutenant Colonel Kitcat, do they still exist? Will they still be around in generations to come? I hope so. We must try to be good examples for them and teach them history and keep everything crossed for them to follow suit.

Humans strived to make life easier and more comfortable, and they succeeded in some ways, but easier life has also made people lazier, too much stimulation more numbed, more easily bored, information overload resulted in less compassion, and information technology brought with it the dark side of the Internet, and whilst life has become easier, in many ways it’s become more complex and arguably harder. But we must have some faith in future generations - or else we are all doomed!

[DawnFae]

OMG Mz. A! Will's Grandma pic is so beautiful with her serving tea with such a loving and joyous smile on her kind face!
My grandma was something like that in that she held the family together and she would feed us and take care of us at any time we would turn up on her doorstep!
I am sure your grandma was a fabulous cook too! I still dream of the fresh bread my grandma magicked when I came back from school, hungry. It is still the best bread I ever had im life. I guess it's the love that makes food and everything else taste and feel better.

I agree with Mz. S that this kind of people and their caring are becoming rare in our lives, sadly.
We could modell that to a certain extent, it is a joy to take care of others especially in hard times and emotional distress...

[DawnFae]

You have both raised the subject of young people these days and whether this calibre of people like Will’s granny, Wendy and Lieutenant Colonel Kitcat, do they still exist? Will they still be around in generations to come? I hope so. We must try to be good examples for them and teach them history and keep everything crossed for them to follow suit.

Humans strived to make life easier and more comfortable, and they succeeded in some ways, but easier life has also made people lazier, too much stimulation more numbed, more easily bored, information overload resulted in less compassion, and information technology brought with it the dark side of the Internet, and whilst life has become easier, in many ways it’s become more complex and arguably harder. But we must have some faith in future generations - or else we are all doomed!

I can only agree 100% with you on that! Amen!
Yeah, people in general became more selfish, more self centered and do not always care about others or their well-being (mostly emotional and mental health). Everything can be bought or so we were lead to believe and were encouraged to do. Sharing the experience of a life time with the next generations should be something to treasure and enjoy. Human connections suffered from the new gadgets, too much time is being spent on them, thru them. People say they feel lonely yet they sit beside other humans and all they do is surf the internet on their cell phones / tablets / laptops...
This makes me sad because I lived and enjoyed something else for a long time. I remember the time when we got our first TV set. It destroyed the evening gatherings we had before that. Older family members used to tell us stories and play games with us. After the TV set made its entrance in our lives, the evenings were spent watching whatever but the gatherings became rare. I missed the direct human connection.
Now the new devices are definitely taking more away from us...

[Dee]

OMG Mz. A! Will's Grandma pic is so beautiful with her serving tea with such a loving and joyous smile on her kind face!
My grandma was something like that in that she held the family together and she would feed us and take care of us at any time we would turn up on her doorstep!

I am sure your grandma was a fabulous cook too!

I still dream of the fresh bread my grandma magicked when I came back from school, hungry. It is still the best bread I ever had im life. I guess it's the love that makes food and everything else taste and feel better.


Your grandma was too one of those Angels, Mz K. She looked after you as well, didn’t she?

Yes, my granny was an excellent cook and a fabulous baker. She loved cooking and baking and like you said, everything made with love tastes better.
In fact, my granny used cooking and baking to express her love. She wasn’t a particularly outwardly affectionate person until she became older, so she would express her love with cooking and baking your favourites. She could never say sorry either with words, she also did that through food! I just had a dream about her this morning, and of course it included biscuits!

I agree with Mz. S that this kind of people and their caring are becoming rare in our lives, sadly.
We could modell that to a certain extent, it is a joy to take care of others especially in hard times and emotional distress...

[Dee]

This makes me sad because I lived and enjoyed something else for a long time. I remember the time when we got our first TV set. It destroyed the evening gatherings we had before that. Older family members used to tell us stories and play games with us. After the TV set made its entrance in our lives, the evenings were spent watching whatever but the gatherings became rare. I missed the direct human connection.
Now the new devices are definitely taking more away from us...

That is so sad, and I fully agree, that technology has cost us dearly. As long as we are aware of it, we can fight it somewhat, and keep on orchestrating friends and family gatherings!