Toothbrush Tales

I don't know about anyone else, but we have issues with toothbrushes at our house.

I was standing in our tiny 1/2 bath the other day and marveling at the fact that there were 6 toothbrushes on top of the toothbrush holder. (Since they changed the handle shapes on the toothbrushes they no longer fit into the holder.)

Ok, so 6 toothbrushes downstairs. I was curious to know how many were upstairs since I know that several of the kids keep theirs in their bedroom to avoid it being used by someone else.  I know, gross. 

On my last Target run, I bought 12 new toothbrushes, four each of three different brands because it is impossible to get 11 different colors so they are easy to tell apart.  

Then, I went collecting.  In three bathrooms I came up with 20 toothbrushes!  I get that there are quite a few of us here, but only 11!

These do not include said toothbrushes that are kept in bedrooms, mine or my dear one's because I know which ones they are or our tenacious one's because she has a battery powered "twirly" toothbrush that I know no one else uses.  

This is far from the first time I have done this.  I've just never counted before to see how many I threw away.  

I will never solve this riddle.  I just felt like sharing! 

Breakfast with Adele

I was blessed to be able to spend the weekend in Los Angeles with our second to youngest daughter.  We stayed with my brother Dave, his wife, Gisa and my three year old niece, Adele.

The flight was spectacular since there were no clouds.  A great treat for our first time flyer.  She took lots of photos of the snow covered Rockies.

She enjoyed the benefits of free cartoons and beverage and snack service.

 But the best part was being with family.

Technology is amazing when you have family across the country.  Most of the time when we see Adele we are using FaceTime and she is having breakfast.

This time I got to share breakfast with her in person.

Awesome. 

We had great fun in L.A.  The weather was beautiful, the grass was green, the sky blue, the temperature a perfect 70 degrees.   

On the list of things to do was to see the Hollywood sign and the Walk of Fame.  We spent Friday with Gisa and Adele.

Saturday we wanted to go to the zoo but by the time we got close the zoo parking lot was full and the line to get off the freeway to the zoo was quite long so we decided on a much less stressful adventure. We went horseback riding instead. That was interesting since they put me on the BIGGEST horse they had!  We're all a bit saddle sore. Totally worth it!

Sunday brought us home again.  Thank you Dave, Gisa and Adele!  We had a great time.  Our tenacious one is hoping her turn to fly some place fun will be next. 

Losing Dad

Thankfully my dad is still with us physically. Mentally is another matter.

I watched my brother and sister-in-law take care of her mom and dad when they had dementia and Alzheimer's.

I watched my mom and dad take care of his mom and dad when they went through it.

Now, I am actively watching and helping my siblings help our mom take care of our dad.

As I contemplated writing this months ago, I had considered titling the post, "I choose to laugh."  I still think the sentiment has merit but now it is more in the losing stage than the laughing stage.

At first, little things he did that made us think his memory was going were cute and funny.

At this point, his agitation and confusion are more worrisome.

I'm blessed that for a couple of weeks before Easter he and I got to go for nice long walks together around the neighborhood.  This gave us together time and it gave my mom some alone time.  Beneficial for all of us.  Lately, he doesn't recognize the neighborhood or the even the house on some days, so he won't walk with me anymore.  But, he has his golf stroke counter and so we sit in the living room looking out the big front window and count cars together.  He has two counters so anyone who is visiting can be in on the fun. :-)

My siblings and I have banded together and we're putting plans in place. We are well aware that any plan may change at any time but we're willing to be flexible to be there to support our parents who have been there for us always.

One thing about having the best parents in the world is that it makes it a joy to help!

I may post some of the funnier moments at some point or maybe I'll just keep giving updates on how we're doing.  At any rate,  you can add this dimension of our lives to your prayers as well.

PS- The chemo treatments are going well with no severe side effects as yet.  Thanks for prayers and support!  (see "When Cancer Hits Home" for details.)