Dear Reader:

This Tuesday will be the day I drive Ben over to Wellmore Assisted Living on Daniel Island and I have been praying constantly that this move is a positive game changer! We are certainly both apprehensive …yet in my heart I know this is the best decision and opportunity to get Ben the professional cognitive help he needs desperately.

* Just pray no more red ladders start flying towards us again!

Yesterday was wash day …washing, drying, folding and doing some preliminary packing. We want to be ready Tuesday when Lee calls saying the room is fixed up and ready to bring Ben on over !

Lee and his mom, Susan, are heading back to Conway Monday…to bring Ben’s car back and pick up more personal items to makes his room feel more familiar and inviting!

If it takes a village to raise a child… then it must take an army to move a loved one suffering from dementia -the to do list is endless and the red tape and bureaucracy is overwhelming… when you have a small family going through this challenge for the first time… it gets to the point where each of us feel like we all need on-going assisted living ourselves!

My personal escape is still my garden sanctuary… I go look at my morning glories every morning first thing… each day some blooms have folded and closed because each morning glory’s life time is only a day! Yet look what they do with their short lives… bring beauty and smiles to life. We all would have accomplished a lot in our lifetime… if we could have done the same!

I ordered a wooden mailbox for Ben to hang in his room-so he can re-read letters, his grandchildren’s pictures and photos. I gave my family his new address-to do the same with Ben’s great nephews and nieces.

So until tomorrow…Dear Father… Give all of us family caregivers, as well as the medical caregivers, the wisdom and strength to care for Ben in a way that honors and respects him. Send Ben loving caregivers who appreciate the history and richness of his life experiences.

” Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh