Each night before dinner, my husband & I go out onto the deck & have a glass of wine. Every night he asks me the name of each flower. What is that little white flower under the rose bush? I don't know, it's just an annual I picked up at the grocery store. Those yellow flowers come up every year, what are they called? I don't know, I bought them 9 years ago, they're some sort of perennial. What are the flowers in the pot? They are alstromerias, remember I cut them & bring them into the house. ETC. I swear, it is the same conversation every time. Now, I'm not really complaining, because this is not a serious problem, but it drives me NUTS. Well, I guess I am complaining, but it doesn't seem fair to complain about something so small. Guess I just wanted to vent, can I PLEASE have a real conversation?
I hesitate to say, but I start another job on Monday. Selling spas, pool tables, etc. Who will be buying those in this economy? Guess I'll find out. For as long as it lasts, it will get me out of the house & into conversations in the real world.
Do others have the same darned conversation all the time?
I wrote a blog with that exact title last January. Copy and paste this link: http://www.thealzheimerspouse.com/groundhogday.htm to read it. Or just go to previous blog section, and scroll down to #114.
Oh my, I read your blog. But then I tried to research it under topics (groundhog day) & nothing came up. Sometimes I am still in denial about the seriousness of this, but when I get the feedback that others are experiencing the same thing, then I have to come to terms with it all.
Oh my, we ALL live the Groundhog movie. Ouch. Guess we're not in Kansas anymore.
Kitty, I'd be rich if I had a dollar for every time the same questions is repeated and repeated and...... Christmas is coming. Maybe that'll help your sales. Good luck
My husband has a ritual he goes through every night. He walks around the house to make sure everything is ok - I think he does that to have a cigarette. He counts the number of light bulbs outside and tells me all 15 lights are working and gives the the thumbs up. If the sprinkers are on, he counts the number of sprinker heads and tells me. Then he turns out the porch lights and he is done with the outside.
I get asked every day what time is it? or what day is it?? does it really make a difference anymore:)i always say the answer and it seems to appease him but i cant understand why it matters to him anymore. divvi
We rushed over to my son's house Wed night when my DIL had been in an accident. he called from emergency. We got the kids and stayed at their home. Do you want me to tell you how many times he asked why we were there? Did they go to a movie? Then when he saw her next day, he tried to signal me about her face, what happened. He simply had no idea. And when he saw her again, when they got back from the doctor's , he signalled me, not to quietly, what happened to her face. Again I explained.then at dinner, ... and again.... and again.... and ag.... well, you get the idea. Talk about groundhog day.
For those of you who missed it, do check out my old blog from last January on "Groundhog Day". http://www.thealzheimerspouse.com/groundhogday.htm
Honestly, I laughed while I was writing it, and most of the time, I still laugh when it happens, because if I didn't, I'd be bald from pulling the hair out of my head.
OMG, I never thought of it as Groundhog Day. What a hoot. I've lost track of how many times he asks the SAME question==over and over again. Sometimes it almost drives me to distraction. One day I asked him why he wanted to know. That stopped him dead in his tracks for about 5 minutes and then it was the same ??? again. Oh, well, I generally just go ahead and answer it. Once in a while I ask him to tell me. That opens a different line of conversation, if nothing else. Strange disease.
I know. This absolute perseveration on going to CalTech - DRIVING to CalTech, I need to find my car keys (while in PJs, ready for bed) EVERY DAY! is driving me nuts! Relatively pleasant but sometimes now SHUT UP! and I say DO NOT TALK TO ME THAT WAY, and he looks ashamed and stops... But how can he remember that every day!!
divvi, I have often thought the same thing myself...if their memory is so messed up how can they remember either the same questions or the same wrong version of something that they thought happened. As you know we are on the coast of SC, a while ago Mac asked me the name of the storm. Duh! we have been watcing the updates on TV every hour or two. It's times like that I wonder just what stage he is in.
You know, I have a history of writing things that seem to kill the discussions - not one I meant to have! But I'm going to take a chance here - in Groundhog Day, Bill got to keep waking up the next day and reliving it until he got it right. Wouldn't it be a wonderful miracle if we woke up in the morning to find our spouses got it right and in the morning they all woke up without AD??????
Thanks to all for your comments. Divvi, I've wondered that myself. How does he goes precisely to the same flowers in the same order, always starting with the little white flowers under the rose bush. The brain is a mysterious thing.
Mary, you're not killing this discussion. I have had the same thoughts about waking up and finding my wife back to normal. Unfortunately, it won't happen.
It's a shame Staples doesn't have an easy button for us. I wonder if they keep asking the same question over and over because it is something important to them but of course can't remember our answer. Another instance of the brain sputtering to a halt.
I have never seen groundhog day. I started to watch it, but it seemed so corny I returned it. Now I am thinking maybe I should rent it! The movie that reminds me of Alzheimer’s the most is 50 first dates. I love that movie! Actually it was from watching it that I decided to try to make videos for Lynn any time I had to be away from the house. It has worked wonderfully!
WalMart and many other places have Red Box or something like it. It is a kiosk where you can rent a video for $1 with your credit card. Cheap and fast. I just rented The Bucket List.
Marsh, yes I did...still do occasionally...sometimes they are full of spice. <grin>
bluedaze, I bought The Bucket List - I enjoyed it that much! (I also got "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou" but three of my children didn't get it - the fourth loves it as much as I do!)
I figured there would be a topic like this. DW was taking a pill once a week to help prevent osteoporosis. When she had her annual physical the PCP switched her to a nasal spray. I assumed it would also be once a week but no, it's once a day, in alternating nostrils. Don't know what the doctor was thinking. Every day DW wants to know why she has to use that, doesn't remember doing it the day before, doesn't remember how to use the dispenser or what 'sniff' means.
It occurred to me, this is just like the movie Groundhog Day.
danielp--I'd be back with the Dr. in a hurry to either go back to a pill for the osteoporosis, or to consider stopping it. There are several that are taken only once a week and at least one that's once a month. That nasal spray one sounds like a real pain in the tush to deal with.