Rough weekend with Grammy

4 days ago I decided to give up coffee for 3 reasons. 1.) I ran out of Dunkin Donuts Hazelnut coffee, 2.) It is known to bring on hot flashes and make them intense, I wanted to see if this was true, 3.) It brings on hallucinations in elderly people with dementia

So, Josie and I haven't had coffee since the morning that I ran out, Friday.

No coffee combined with eating a whole wheat tuna sandwich sent her mind into a tizzy. It last for 3 days. She was aggravated with me about everything. Sucking it up is really hard sometimes.

Here we are, the 2 of us having caffeine withdrawals and we have a party to throw for Brian's birthday.

Yesterday morning I had a screaming caffeine headache. My mom was crabby and not talking to me. Oiy!

Donna and Brad arrived at 11:30 with Uncle Al. He was excited for the party. He loves coming to my house.

My mother, she was pissed off and wouldn't come out of her room. She sat and stared at the Game Show Network game show reruns.

After a couple of hours I went in to her room and told her that I have all her kids together, that I did it for her.

She came out of the room. She didn't talk to anyone. She never does... she doesn't start conversations, she never has. I think this is why it's so easy for her to be introvert; lock herself away and never talk to people.

Diabetes does strange things to the mind.

All day yesterday I fed her raw vegetables. Dark leafy greens, much to her dismay. She doesn't like dark greens, her favorite lettuce is iceberg lettuce. I find it tasteless... she finds it delectable. She ate the dark greens anyway because I told her that she needed to alkaline up her blood.

Around 8pm last night my mother was back to "normal" and she apologized for being such a bitch.

Caring for a parent is a lot like caring for a child. They get scared easily and need constant reassurance that everything is going to be OK. They need lots of love and attention.

The big difference between raising a child and caring for a parent is that you watch a child grow and get stronger everyday. With a parent it's the opposite, you watch your parent become less and less capable of the easiest of tasks. In a sense, I'm preparing her for the day she dies, a parent prepares a child for a full life.

But, I still believe diet, exercise and a happy state of mind helps the elderly hang on to what they have and not decline as quickly. Sure beats the alternative of putting her in a nursing home.