I had a few minutes to sit and just think and wondered what our routine days are like. I have mine below. Of course it is routine up until something happens that is not routine. I would be interested in know what some other routine days are like if you would like to share.
Mine and kathryn's Routine day:
1. 4:30am: Get up give DW B-12 and put on a new Exelon patch. 2. 4:45am: Get DW dressed 3. 4:50am: Make DW a glass of tea and help her take the rest of her morning pills. 4. 5:00am: Make and serve DW Breakfast. 5. 5:28am: Give DW a hug and a kiss and tell her to try to stay out of jail (She always laughs at this) 6. 5:30am: Head for work. 7. 10:30am: Leave work and head home. 8. 10:40am: Give DW another pill. 9. 10:45am: Make and serve DW lunch. 10. 11:15am: Head back to work. 11. 2:30pm: Head for home. 12. 3:00pm: arrive home. 13. 3:00pm: – 4:00pm: Watch Walker Texas Ranger with DW. 14. 4:00pm: - 6:00pm Cook supper and serve DW and eat. 15. 6:00pm: Give DW more pills. 16. 6:15pm: – Do dishes. 17. 6:30pm – 8:30pm: - Wash, dry, fold and put away laundry. Also while, laundry is going get DW a bath, help her brush her teeth and get dressed for bed. 18. 9:00pm- Get Kathryn in bed. 19. 9:00pm-4:30pm: get up as needed (4 or 5 times a night).
This the routine day. As we know there are many other things such as Doctor and Dental appointments, shopping and whatever comes up that needs to be taken care of that gets slipped in as possible.
Sure couldn't start my day that early! Our routine is not a routine at all even though I try.
1. Anytime between 6am and 9am DH gets up. 2 Cajole him into sitting on the toilet. 3. While he is folding reams of TP I try to convince him to stand up so I can wash his hands, brush teeth and shave. 4. Get him dressed. 5. Lead him to the kitchen so he can stand in the way while I prepare breakfast. 6. Breakfast and "read" paper. 7. DH "washes" dishes with paper towel that he has blown his nose on. I stick them in the dishwasher to sanitize. 8. Outside to sweep. 9. Lunch 10. Go for a ride 11. Dinner 12. Go for a ride 13. Stop at Dairy Queen for a Peanut Buster Parfait. 14. TV (NCIS reruns) until 10. 15. Watch DH try and hide his sleeping pills. 16. Battle over the shower. 17. Battle over brushing teeth. 18. Battle over getting in bed. 19. Listen to him snore.......for about 45 minutes.. 20. Up and out of bed to mess around in the bedroom, kitchen, living room............
The only thing "routine" about our day is that it is never the same.
Funny this topic should come up..Just yesterday I was talking to someone in the grocery store and commented on the sameness of every day (until an emergency comes up that takes control of the day or days)
1. I get up between 5:30 and 6:30 2. Set up the coffee machine 3. Set out meds for hubby to take..the tablets, the glucometer, the insulins, the spariva, the namenda and execlon patch. 4. Pour myself a cup of coffee and get the paper 5. Check the inbox on the computer ( and here of course..kind of like morning prayers) 6. Fix the meds for my hypertrophic cardiomyopathy afflicted cat ( she takes 3 meds and on every 3rd day 4) 7. Fix the special diet food for my tubby kitty ( she has to have some Konsyl-D added to her food..she is on Hills MD) 8. Supervise DH take his meds..make sure he does not get into the meds he is not supposed to.. 9. Make him eat a little something so his glucose does not plunge while he reads the paper and otherwise dilly dallys. 10. Fix him something for a real meal. 11. Clean up the kitchen. 12. Go make the bed, clean the litter boxes and trash baskets and get dressed start a load of laundry. 13. Come out and find I need to clean the kitchen again. by now it is 10:30. 14. If we have doctor appointments, or something else we have to attend, try to get the man who looks like the relative of the Unabomber to get into the shower early..but he dilly dallies so now if he doesn't get it done he goes as is.. 15. ( want to run away) 16. Get lunch of somekind.... 17. Clean up kitchen from lunch. 18. by now it is 1:00 PM..and I get set to go to the grocery store or pharmacy or the car tune up etc.. 19. It by now could be 3:30 at the latest...unload car (if it was grocery run) 10. Clean up kitchen from second lunch. 11. Scan mail I picked up on the way in..keeping it out of DH clutches lest I lose a bill... 12.( want to run away again) 13. Try to sit down and see something on TV that isn't the same rerun of a movie again..like maybe the news? 14. Figure out something for dinner...by now he has eaten so much all day he is not hungry and will say " I don't eat as much as I used to"...ha ha yeah you do .. 15. Do the dishes again..clean up kitchen, tidy tv room... 16. Get clothes out of the dryer. 17. He goes to bed about 8 normally..I have the house and cats to myself now, computer and the TV, pay bills, write a note or answer social mail...and I usually fall asleep watching House Hunters or some decorating show... 18. Haul myself to bed... Then dawn comes and it repeats itself all over again....... I have a guy wash windows once a quarter and we have lawn guys once a week...so those chores I don't have to face. When hubby tells me how much he appreciates me, I ask when am I going to get a raise? It is not all miserable...we do find things to laugh about quite often..he has such a great sense of humor and is not a grumpy man....just forgetful....
This is ours: 1. I get up around 6 a.m., shower, get about half dressed, go downstairs where the coffee is ready, pour a cup and sit and drink my coffee - quietly! 2. Take coffee pot back up to bed, turn on small lamp; DH then will get his pillows fixed behind him so he can sit up and drink coffee. We "talk" for awhile, turn TV on to watch morning new, and drink our pot of coffee. 3. 7:30 I finish dressing, lay out his clothes, tell him it's shower day and I go back downstairs, fix a bowl of cereal and eat it. 4. DH gets up, makes the bed, shaves. I listen for shower. If I hear it, I go back upstairs to help him dry off and DRY shampoo his hair. If I don't hear the shower - I forget it for the day unless we are going to Dr. appointment. 5. He comes down with Millie and I get her leash for him to take her on a short walk, and I watch him from a distance. 6. When he gets back, I set out his medicines, he fixes his own breakfast, usually cereal and fruit or toast. He will sit and eat breakfast and "read" the paper, tear out the crossword puzzles, puts his dishes in the dishwasher and retires to his recliner. While he eats, I do laundry or do general picking up. 7. I go upstairs, where usually I can stay for a couple hours while he does crosswords or play games on his computer. 8. I go in to work 2-3 days a week from 8 - 9:30. Work about 3 blocks from home and I can leave him alone once he is in the recliner. My attorney employer is wonderful - I just go whenever I can and get paid the same as when I worked full time for them for 22 years! 9. Around 10:30 we sit on the porch if weather is nice and have another cup of coffee; or do errands. 10. At lunch, he always wants a ham/cheese sandwich or microwave pizza - which he want to fix for himself. I let him. We eat and he takes Millie out for another walk. I get him back in his recliner for most of the afternoon. 11. Meanwhile, I go back upstairs and do whatever it is I want to do; or do some cleaning downstairs or work in the yard. He loves to vacuum so I let him do that. Mostly hardwood floors so no big deal. 12. Around 4, I fix Millie's food; then he takes her out for another walk,while I start dinner. He comes back and sets the table. 13. He fixes his glass of cream sherry and I have a glass of wine and we just sit and "talk" or watch a little TV - but he doesn't follow that very well anymore. 14. We eat around 5:30, he clears the table, rinses and puts dishes in dishwasher, he takes Millie out again; then goes upstairs and gets his pj's on and gets in bed. I get the coffee fixed and set to come on at 6 a.m. I and remain downstairs and do whatever has to be done there, until around 7:30-8:00. Go upstairs, set out his medicine.. 15. I'm then free until I get ready to go to bed. He sleeps very well, 1-2 times to bathroom and that's it until 6:30 a.m. and the day starts again.
Of course, I didn't mention the 1,000 questions he repeats to me throughout the day; or messing up the remote control everyday, or spilling his drink, etc.
At 88, however, plus ALZ, I think he is doing good. He has lots of arthritis and sometimes is in pain or has cramps in legs and arms. Most of the time, tonic water does the trick for that. Plus tylenol arthritis. Took him off aricept and namenda almost a year ago - saw no changes for good or bad.
Not a really bad way to live - just routine, routine, routine! But no anger, no rages, no driving issues, not incontinent, just can't remember things 3 minutes.