A great team

Mr. O. has advanced Alzheimer's disease.

He and his wife have been together since high school and recently celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary.

Mrs. O. reports that he was always a "man's man, and loved to take care of me and our family. He took real pride in being a great provider, husband and father."

"He was upset when we first moved here (they moved to an Assisted Living Facility over a year ago) but I just kept thanking him for finding us such a great final home. Now he seems to think it was his idea all along."

"I tell him he's the boss everyday...I just make all the decisions now. It works for us."

The Munchies

Mr. S. is a 64 year old who has chronic pain and depression and has been on long term narcotics and anti-depressants.

The staff reported he was doing really well lately.

"In what way?" I asked.

"He's more sociable and talkative. He's also snacking all the time on Little Debbie's."

I quickly searched my memory and remembered these exact symptoms from directly observing many college friends and acquaintances from the late 1970's.

Sure enough, Mr. S.'s urine drug screen (UDS) was positive for marijuana.

It's good to know my long term memory is intact but bad for Mr. S. because of the interventions that will need to follow in regards to his chronic pain medications.

A pleasant surprise

I've been to a lot of incredibly beautiful Assisted Living Facilities (ALF's) in which the residents, I was visiting, spent the whole time complaining about the facility.

Yesterday, I drove to an ALF I had never previously visited.

It seemed old and fairly plain on the outside and the grounds were neat but by no means as glitzy and fancy as most.

Mr.and Mrs. O. (85 and 82 years old) have lived there for over a year.

They could not stop talking about how happy they were.

Here are just a few of their unsolicited comments:

"The staff is always respectful and friendly"

"They always go out of their way to assist and help whenever asked"

"The food is great"

"We could not be happier here"

It sure was a pleasant surprise. It's the old, "you can't judge a book by the cover."

You notice I haven't revealed the name of the facility. I don't want the word to get around in case my wife and I need a spot there in about thirty years!

Sticking with 500 plus 1

The back-to-school ads are coming on strong.

They present more and more options to young adults every year.

Even buying jeans is getting more and more complicated.

This weekends ad for Levi's now give young men/men the following options: original, regular, regular taper, relaxed, relaxed straight, comfort fit, boot cut, loose straight, slim straight, and skinny.

Ten different styles with ten different numbers.

I like Levi's.

I'm easy; 501's all the way...the original style.

I don't have a clue why any young man would ever want to wear the skinny version!

Life changing poor choices

M.E., a local high school principal was recently arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI).

I know her personally.

She was the principal of our local middle school prior to being promoted.

She's well liked and respected by students, parents and faculty.

I have heard her advise students, at many school functions over the years, to "always try to make good decisions in life."

Unfortunately, she recently did not.

"Life presents many choices, the choices we make (may) determine our future (Catherine Pulsifer)."

I added the (may).

I know at least once I got behind the wheel of my car, when I had had too much to drink, while in college, and drove home. I didn't get caught.

I haven't done it since but my future MAY have been different if I had been or had injured myself or someone else.

M.E. wasn't as fortunate as me.

Should I try to be Facebook 'friends' with my teenagers?

If you Google "should parents be 'friends' with their kids on Facebook?" you will come across an assortment of opinions at different sites and discussion groups.

Folks make some great arguments for and against.

Obviously Facebook didn't exist when I was a teenager.

My kids are now 16 and 17 (going into 11th and 12th grade of high school), are great kids and do well in school.

They have some good friends and to date, pretty much across the board, have made excellent choices in life.

We have discussed what is and isn't appropriate for the Internet and we have made sure all possible security measures have been activated.

But, I have not asked to be their 'friend.'

My only reason is that honestly, when I was a teenager, I wouldn't have wanted to be 'friends' with my parents, if a social media existed at the time.

I had great parents and I was a good kid, but I still choose to not discuss all the details of my social life with my parents.

My kids have earned the same right so, for now, I'm not going to ask them.

Enough said, case closed.

I still reserve the right to re-visit the issue when they go off to college however-maybe I'll ask them to just let me look at the pictures!

"I owe you"

Carmen is the caregiver for her father, Mr. V., a 92 year old with advanced dementia.

She lost her husband many years ago to a heart attack, her mother died 9 years ago, and her daughter, grandson and grandsons father also live with her.

Mr. V. is close to total care.

Nobody knows how she does it.

I asked her.

"My Dad was a great father. He was a hard working man (worked for years in the Steel-mill and latter in the Insurance business), a political activist (was one of the originators of the Puerto Rican Parade Committee of Chicago (PRPC)-"group founded in 1964 (and still active) by visionary leaders with the mission of better representation and greater opportunities for the Hispanic community"), and a poet. I always let people know I'm not forced to care for my Dad, I choose to care for him. I'm just trying to repay a lifetime of IOU's from his better years, for everything he did for us over the years."

It would be a better world if a lot more folks felt obliged to repay theirs.