Nikki that is such good news, i can feel your lite heart thru the air waves. keep at it, encouraging him little by little. good news friend, Divvi
Bluedaze, it does light up our face when our spouses are having a good day. we notice even the minor things others miss. so glad you have some too.
Susan L-you do have alot to be proud and thankful for! wedding and an MD son on the way. my only child is an MD and it makes me also very proud he got thru all the yrs and hard work. plus he didnt even write or read english that well til his senior yr!! we lived internationally all his life. so it was double work and hewas even validictorian in college. when our kids are happy so are we.. and throw in smiley spouse- makes for double happy faces.
My son will graduate from college with a bachelors in psychology and a minor in philosophy. He wants to go to law school but plans to take a year off and possibly teach English in South Korea for a year. I'm very proud of him but a little worried about him going overseas. He's great with his dad.
It's been a little more than two months since my wife died. I am doing ok. I got a part time job yesterday, working as an office administrator for a female pastor. As I am not a religous person, it should be a lot of fun. I'm slowly remodeling the house (much deferred maintenance being addressed). I'm restoring a 1967 Camaro. I am breathing and take a nap whenever I want to. I've been in hell twice. Now each day is a new dawn, ripe with possibilities.
I miss my wife. I think of the day we got married in the park accross from city hall, how she enjoyed babies and the great job she did raising our sons. I think of how she kept the boys and me in line and the sacrifices that she made. I think of all the good things. Just like Vietnam, the dark days are put away. It takes more and more effort to remember the bad things. I am spending less and less time trying to remember the bad things.
As a former non-optimist, when you can't go another day, when it's just too hard, when all you can do is cry; take a breathe and go one more day. It's not all sunshine and rainbows on this side of it, but there are sunshine and rainbows.
Good for you, DKing! That job should be lots of fun for you. I know you miss you DW but I'm glad you're thinking of the good things. Hopefully, all the bad can be put behind you as you go forward with your life. So happy you are still coming here to post. Just keep looking for the sunshine and rainbows! ((((HUGS))))
You give us all such hope. Thank you. I am so glad that you are coming into the sunshine.I am going to copy your post and put a copy in the widows/widowers section.
My DH was DX'd in September 2007 with AZ. For a while I thought he was going to go downhill pretty fast. In April I took him to a different neuro who checked EVERYTHING and his nurse did a mmse which was a lot more than the first neuro did. Anyway this neuro put my DH on Namenda....he was already on Aricept and he seemed to be doing better with his short term memory. We had an appointment with the neuro today and I asked him where my DH was on the mmse test. He scored 27 which is still the mild range from the first DX. The neuro said if it starts to go down to 23 or more then we may need to try something else. He also said my DH may never get worse. I think I can live with that!!!!
Jean, he did well on the mme. My DH scored 11 last September...(almost a year) and I think many more of us are dealing with "under 15's". I hope that y'all caught his early enough that he may NOT ever get worse. That's the prayer of all of us with these drugs that have been developed. The purpose of Aricept and Namenda is just that..slow down the progression ...and then, we can look towards new research that will take the place of these. I read that 20 years ago, we had NOTHING for this. There has been progress, although it may be too late for all of our LO's. Keep the faith, Jean21.
Thnaks Nancy, My DH will be 81 in September so in a way I hope that he goes from something else rather than the last stages af AZ. Right now it is just his short term memory with a bit of long term thrown in now and then.LOL Yesterday he asked me if my birthday came before his. I guess so seeing as how August comes before September. Other than memory he is still pretty normal and functional.
I think I hit the wrong command. Hope this doesn't come through twice, or it will sound like boasting when all I want is to share the good news. My publisher is offering me 25% royalties for an electronic version of my last book. (Beats the 10% for the printed book.) It encourages me to get back to writing,something I've let slide because of all the tangles I've been in.
I'm glad there are lots of happy things here! Two for me, my daughter wrote a letter and entered it into a contest for Mother's Day. I doubt she will win but it brought a tear to my eye. The second is that I went with to see my 4 year old grand daughter in her pre-school program for mothers day. I just love seeing 3 and 4 year olds sing!
Janet, I don't know. I'm guessing that it will work out about the same. But I'll let you know. The one thing I do know is that most writers have a day job because they can't make a living at writing.
Congratulations, Mary! I would love for you to write new books! Does the 25% apply to Amazon's new Kindle too?
Jean, my husband was put on Razadyne and Namenda back in February 2007 when he was diagnosed. He has continued to constantly go downhill from Stage 4 to early Stage 7 with no plateaus. If you husband stays stationery, you are very fortunate!
I'm getting a 2 day and one night vacation this weekend and coming back to be taken out for my Mother's Day Dinner treat! One whole night's sleep! That is exciting news! Hasn't happened in over a year!!!
I love the 3 - 5 year old. They are so open to learning, unpredictable and say the funniest things. My year old granddaughter that live here is that way. Her mom treated her like a big girl pushing the talking, making her a Miss Social, etc. but now i think she regrets it some cause she acts a little too grown-up at times. But she is jealous of her little brother - we all know how it is to be the center of attention and then suddenly you are not.
Cute note: my 10 1/2 month old grandson has been trying to walk to keep up with big sister. They share the house with my sister (she built an apartment but share the kitchen) and they love the hallway. He is currently fascinated with doors so they head down to my sister's room to play with the door and in the mirror at the end of the hallway. Yesterday morning daddy went down to get them telling to march back down the hallway. Noah started to crawl behind daddy but quickly stood up and walked behind him. Previously he had taken like 10 steps at most. I guess he had a big smile on his face - he was so proud of himself. Wish I could have seen it.
Whenever he sees papa (my hb) his face lights up and he wants to go to him. He can be crying and stop when he sees papa. HB never played with the kids when they were growing up nor the older grandkids, so it is special to see him finally enjoying the special delights of little ones.
Speaking of unpredictable - remember Art Linkletter? I loved his show. Occasionally you can catch clips of it. I remember they tried to redo it, but only Art can host the show and make it work.
The good: Oldest granddaughter graduates from Purdue this month. The stressful: Younger son burned out in Santa Barbara fires. He's not burned--just all his stuff "melted or ash" he says--except for a wicker privacy screen.
And starting out as Short Stop on this Glorious Sunny Day, It's Mr Dylan, #14 hailing from Harrison, ME. Dylan is 4'1" and 55lbs! This is his first year on the Harrison Huskies Rookies! In attendance will be a big surprise, his PAPA! Also attending are Grandma Susan, Great Nana, Barbara (oxygen and all)!
Just got a beautiful fresh flower arrangement from my son for Mother's Day. He never forgets, even with all his problems. Is on the national waiting list for transplant of kidney and pancreas. Bless his heart - he is so kind and I love him so much. (He is my adopted son - from 3 days old)!
From DKing when you can't go another day, when it's just too hard, when all you can do is cry; take a breathe and go one more day. It's not all sunshine and rainbows on this side of it, but there are sunshine and rainbows. WE SHOULD ALL PRINT THIS OUT AND PUT IT ON OUR REFRIDGERATORS, MIRRORS AND ANYWHERE ELSE WE CAN THINK OF, MAYBE RENT A BILLBOARD!
My brother sent my Mom and I a HUGE Bouquet of Flowers for Mother's Day. What a shock that he included me! I was so touched. He may be a pain in the but, but he has his good points. He is the one who is doing our home repairs too.
Janet, in answer to your question: my daughter who is more up on these things than I am, says that the electronic books sell for about the same price as a hard cover. If the hard cover sells for about $20.00 ( I can't remember the exact amouont, but I do write for the teen age reader and I think that's about right), and I get $2.00 per copy in royalties, then the electronic book would give me $5.00. And I think the potential market will be bigger, too. Anyway, encouraged, I've sent off another manuscript to a publisher. I've had it for awhile, but they don't sell sitting in a drawer.
We went for our drive yesterday and had a good time. We hiked to about 5 waterfalls - each 1/2 to 1 mile in. I was really surprised I was not sore today since I thought I was out of shape. HB had a good time except he doesn't remember it all and today he is paying for the exertion yesterday. He is really having a time with confusion today. But, it was worth going. We talked of how we use to the camping and hiking before we adopted and after with the kids.
First, I had a great day in NYC on Saturday - it's a 3 hour bus ride and for 20+ years I arranged a bus to go down, six times a year, gave it up a year ago, but a constant rider took it over to some degree. Daughter tended husband and he behaved pretty well, although today he told me that she kept scolding him for "being grumpy." I saw my dear old friend, 90, with AZ, in a nursing home in Queens,then went to a Broadway play with Jeremy Irons, a new American Craft museum, and a splurge of a dinner at Petrossian (we're talking caviar and pate de fois gras and duck breast and pasha).
Second, our newest CNA came today and my husband really likes him and it looks like he'll be available this summer when I go up to the island. Great relief!
Congratulations, Lizbeth! It is one of our most fun moments in life! To be able to hold, cuddle, spoil and play with a child and give him/her back to the parents to change! <grin>
Sometimes I wished I could have skipped the kids and gone straight to the grandkids! I have so much fun with them without the responsibilities! <grin>
I wish I could cuddle my grandson all the time but my daughter lives in the Central California coast. But it is a beautiful place to visit & even better now.
briegull - oooh i am soooo jealous! love petrossians!! beluga caviar and pate fois gras... my absolute fav with of course a good glass of champagne!! (or chilledvodka)we visited NYC and made it a must... sigh. the good ole days. DH loved gourmet dining..:((i do miss it. divvi
I'm not sure that they even HAVE beluga any more. They have something called Transmontanus from California farm-raised white sturgeon. It is really good: $148 for 50 gr (1.75 oz). I didn't spend that of course, I had it as part of a "tasting" appetizer with their special smoked salmon and some salmon roe and the fois gras. I just checked their mail-order catalog. No beluga. Ossetra, sevruga, Alverta, Baeril are the imports.
20 years ago I went to the Soviet Union on a tour. We were in Azerbaijan (and Georgia) as well as Russia. Baku, Azerbaijan, is on the Caspian Sea and at that time at least there was a booming business in sturgeon fishing for caviar. The pollution off-shore, and the oil detritus, because there's a lot of black gold there too - made me very dubious ever thereafter about Russian caviar. I didn't have champagne - they didn't have it by the glass, apparently - but two glasses of... ? a good white wine whose name I'm blanking on. Not the usuals.
You are making my mouth water. I have a beautiful little caviar spoon - and it is dying to be used. I've only tasted a teensy bite of Russian caviar one time. I went to their website after you said you were there and was intrigued by the vodka glasses and caviar sets...the tall skinny vodka glasses they stick into shaved ice! ...I don't like fois gras at all, but everything else there would have been delicious.
You deserved that treat. So do I. :-) Decadence - I love it.
aha, I remember. Sancerre. Lovely! Hmm. I could do a whole book - or at least an essay - on uncommon drinks I've had in strange places. I was thinking about prosecco that I had looking out over the Bay of Capri a couple of years ago.. and the strong Greek metaxa that a taverna guy put in my tea "for medicinal purposes" when I was hoarse on Crete once, or the coca tea in Urubamba, Peru.. or the awful meekong whiskey at a pig roast in central Thailand (the pig was good, at least!) .. or the sangria in Mallorca (I've never taken a cruise,but somehow I kept ending up on islands!) THose were the days!
Briegull, you've been everywhere there is to be. If you could visit one place you have NEVER been, where would that be? I was served some "unique" foods in the Philippines when I was there for 3 months. ooooh.
Haven't been to China or Australia - or Madagascar, and I'd love to go there especially. Haven't been to Ireland or Scotland; I was saving them for when I got too old to go "adventurous" places. There's a lot more of Europe I'd like to wander around in, including Scandinavia. But I've been-there-done-that with tropical climes, both New World and Old. The bouganvilla belt is just too darned hot.
by the way, i went to russia in the early 80's too! went to st petersburg, moscow, tbilisi in geogia! just beautiful then..:( and kiev., yerevan-scary!, and volgograd!. i was the only american on the tour..haha. and thus an interesting trip. i would not go back 3 wks was enoug for me. the hermitage was the highlite. divvi
briegull -nancy, check out petrossians paris!!! they have 'gift baskets' to ship worldwide. with all the GOOD stuff=tsars special caviar!...holysmokes, the one i want is 1225dol!!! haha... ships overnite. omg..heaven for sure.. divvi
and i am sure if you want beluga they have a reserve thats not on the reg menu- champagne too. in NYC??? all the picky rich and famous, come on!! haha..
Can't you just see us, with our caviar spoons, eating out of the little tins. Good vodka - practically frozen - is my drink of choice, if I'm not responsible for driving home.
Ah,...that was my former life. Just love that little pop you get in your mouth with each tiny bite of good caviar - omg! I'm dying. Add a little salmon, capers, minced onions.egg.. Do you think we could thrive exclusively on that?
I'd like to try, Nancy! They served very good rolls. But toast points. I'm not much on toast points. The duck breast (they said it was confit but it didn't seem so to me) was delicious, with green figs and baby bok choy and an egg roll!! that was excellent, very crispy. Then I had pasha - RUssian cheesecake, melt in your mouth good. Enough to last me for a year, I'd say!
My grandson did wonderfully at his piano concert on Sunday. We weren't able to go but DS and family came over later and brought dinner for Mother's Day. and he had taped my grandson. it's on youtube.com now. here's the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uA8SV6xWwsw&feature=channel_page if anyone is interested. It's so exciting to see him on the computer whenever I want to. My daughter is also a musician, but none of her kids are interested. Funny, it's my son's child.