Marilyn’s shrinking world
I had a special relationship with my Mom. I thought everyone was as close to their mother as I was, but I learned that isn’t true. So, when she started to get confused, when she forgot how to do simple tasks, I was acutely aware that she was suffering from dementia. I didn’t live nearby, this happened in the years that I lived in an RV and traveled all the time. Maybe that heightened my awareness because seeing her after 3 months away made the change more abrupt to me.
Mom was living alone at this time, and I am an only child, so it was up to me to take care of her.
All this is to say that I am in a unique position to understand what was going on with her and explain it to others. As her memory left her, I filled the void. I became her.
This book starts with some background, the reader needs to know a little about Marilyn’s life before dementia. Then it catalogs the warning signs of the disease.
There are many personal stories of how I managed to take care of her. Some sad, some quite funny. And, finally, it tells the story of the years in assisted living and memory care, ending with hospice and how Covid provided the final relief.
The purpose of the book is to tell Marilyn’s story, the one she couldn’t tell herself, and to give some insight into the wants and needs of someone in her position. The wants and needs that all too many people today are having to navigate. Finally, it is a book about love.
Why it matters
Why you’re qualified to write it
Who is the intended audience
Keep my own voice
Maybe start with Mom coming with us in the RV, then flashbacks and flash forwards from there.
When mom fell out of the cab over bed
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My grandparents business in the 1940-50s - on the IntraCoastal near the Dania cutoff canal |
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That's me with a live baby alligator |
They talked about travels and places that are good to live. I learned that Portugal needs to be higher on our list of places to go. I also learned more about crypto. Set up a meta mask wallet for ethereum and signed up for a proof of humanity account. Two of the attendees were Herb and Sandra. Herb is a cofounder of ProofOfHumanity.id. I also got a .eth address - chrisguld.eth - by going thru the process at app.ens.domains, making a new wallet at my Metamask account, and registered my name. Whew! On to the next level of blockchain!
One evening, the group had happy hour in Herb and Sandra's suite, and they introduced me to what has become my favorite Italian food!!
I'm not kidding - this is my favorite Italian food! |