What a great idea to spend time reminiscing and writing it down to share with the grandchildren. I did get a book for grandparents to record their memories and filled in some of it with my dad. I just wish I’d started it sooner.

 Yes, Kaye, those grandparents’ memory books are great.  They’re a good way to start in recording memories.  Often they’re all that you need. 

And most of us, I think, wish we’d jotted down or recorded more of the memories while our parents or grandparents were still with us or could remember (in the case of Alzheimer’s).  Fortunately I had my dad write down some of his memories before he died.  Then I began to ask my mom about hers before Alzheimer’s became too severe.

How have you recorded family memories?

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Keeping a Grandmother’s Memory Book

You also may want to play around with your photos…making faded ones more visible, correcting mistakes in current ones, cropping them, printing just one or two people from a group, etc.

My daughter has been having fun playing with her Christmas gift, Photoshop Elements 7, as she experiments with photos and gets ideas for her quilting and fabric art. It’s amazing what all can be done with photos to improve them, to combine them, and to give them new looks. However, we both see possibilities for our family photos…current ones and older ones.

I’m fascinated as I watch Beth with this program…and she’s just begun to learn the fundamentals. She also purchased some books that give her more techniques and ideas.

Have you done anything with these photo programs?  What fun for enhancing memory photos and saving family history.

(Amazon image)

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Enhancing Memory Photos

Many Alzheimer’s patients have memories of Pearl Harbor, the attack on December 7, 1941 that precipitated the United States’ involvement in World War II.  Some fought in the war, others worked in war related industries on the home front.  Children helped with Victory Gardens, learned about rationing, air raids, and black-outs.

I was a child during those years of World War II and give talks about this era to those who have no memories of it. 

“Write down your memories about World War II,” someone told me.  So I’ve begun doing this so that my daughter, grandchildren and future generations will have some connection with it.  My stories also have been published in anthologies about this era.

If you know your family member or residents in a nursing home lived during the World War II era, why not ask them about their memories?  Write down or capture on tape these memories as well  Compile some of these in scrapbooks or photo albums. 

(Amazon image)

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Pearl Harbor Day

THURSDAY THIRTEEN

“Alzheimer’s patients bringing joy!” you exclaim.  “No way.  That’s a horrible illness for patient and family.’

However, my family and I discovered that caring for Mother and Auntie, although frustrating and time consuming, did bring us joy and laughter.  We hope we contributed pleasure to their Alzheimer’s world, too.

Let me share the ways:

1. We all learned to laugh at life and the situation to lighten our load.  “We don’t laugh enough, “ Mother once remarked when we chuckled over some incident brought by Alzheimer’s.
2. Caring for others brings us closer in a different way, I discovered.
3. We learned to appreciate a tea party at the nursing home with three generations.
4. When we stopped to listen, we found Mother and Auntie’s stories of days ago interesting and informative.  I’m glad I wrote some of them down.
5. Mother’s smile when a small great grandson held her hand and looked at her was precious.
6. Watching the reflections in our deck door which Mother thought visitors seemed silly then.  Now every time I see “people” there, I think of her.
7. Visiting Mother’s various worlds presented a daily adventure.  I never knew who I’d be or whom we might see.
8. In later days, when she occasionally “broke through that Alzheimer’s shell” and recognized me was precious.  I realized there still was a bond of spirit that was unbroken.
9. When I rubbed lotion on her hands and arms and she said, “That feels so good,” I knew the joy of serving others.
10. My granddaughter responded to the query, “Why do you visit her when she doesn’t know you?” with “Because it makes Great Grandma happy.”  I knew my grandchildren were learning the joy of caring, too.
11. We took Mother for a autumn ride midst the colorful foliage, when she still lived at home.  It was time we thought we should be doing something else.  However, Mother’s pleasure in this jaunt remains with me today whenever the fall colors abound.  I realized that time was well spent bringing Mother joy and me fond memories.
12. Mother’s enjoyment of the bird feeder my husband placed on our deck caused me to stop and notice, too, our winter visitors.
13. We slowed our world, not always by our choosing, to match Mother and Auntie’s pace and marched to a different tune for awhile.  Upon reflection, we realize that seeing “through Alzheimer’s eyes” gave us greater understanding.

Stop and keep track of the small daily joys.  I wish I’d written down more, but when we’re busy and frustrated and involved in an almost unknown situation, we usually don’t take the time.  Upon reflection, I find myself remembering the joys and laughing at the frustrations.

(Amazon image; click on it for details)

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen 

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Thursday Thirteen – 13 Ways Alzheimer’s Patients Bring Joy

Since Alzheimer’s patients, at a certain stage of the illness, often live in the past, why not incorporate this family legacy into time travel for the youngsters in your household this summer?  Take advantage of the Alzheimer’s member’s memories…record and scrapbook them for your family legacy.

However, youngsters are familiar with time travel books so popular nowadays.  Why not do some time travel as you delve into these memories?

• Find places on a map that Grandma tells about.
• Research how she lived when she was a little girl
• See how far back you can follow your family tree
• Find out about those eras and what people did
• Pretend you’re living in those days…and travel back in time for “pretent” adventures

For instance, I discovered one of my ancestors was Uncle William “Buffalo Bill” Mathewson (not Cody) who operated trading posts on the Santa Fe Trail.  Why not discover what life was like for him and Aunt Lizzie in the 1860s era?

What can you do this summer to join your Alzheimer’s family member and enjoy memories instead of being frustrated because they live in the past.  You’ll also discover more about your family heritage as you enjoy “time travel.”

(Amazon image; click on image for details)

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

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Time Travel Experiences for Alzheimer’s Households

Preserving our memories and those of Alzheimer’s patients can lead to scrapbooking fun.  I led a scrapbooking activity for Alzheimer’s patients at a nursing home and think they had as much fun as I did.

With the help of an activity aide, we selected pictures taken of the residents as they engaged in various events at the home.  The patients exclaimed, “That’s me!”

If they were able, they cut out the pictures and selected the colors of the background.  We pasted the photos and embellishments to the pages, one or two for each resident.  Then they shared with one another before we put the pages in a community scrapbook.

This is something you also can do with your Alzheimer’s patient in your home, and with children if they’re around for the summer.  Find photos from the past or from current events.  Scrapbook these summer memories.

Even if the patient can’t participate very much, they may share memories of the past.  It could be a way to calm them for a few moments while everyone preserving memories.

You also can make a collage of memories.  Enter it into a scrapbook or frame and hang on the wall.

(Amazon image)

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

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Scrapbooking Summer Memories For Alzheimer’s Patients

Sue

Daphne

Peter

Sheila

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‘My Voice’ A Four Part Video by the Alzheimer’s Society.

May you have a blessed and lovely Easter holiday, however you may be celebrating.  This is a time to share memories with your Alzheimer’s family member and to create new memories.

When Mother resided at the nursing home, they had an Easter egg hunt, usually the day before Easter, and invited young children and grandchildren from the families to participate.  I recall Mother watching them, smiling and commenting, “Such good children.”

I don’t know if she had any idea what they were celebrating, although perhaps there were glimmerings of memories.  She’d been a school teacher before I was born and always enjoyed youngsters and their activities.  I hope the Easter egg hunts at the nursing home brought back pleasant memories.

Do you recall or create memories with your Alzheimer’s family member?

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

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Happy Easter from Alzheimer’s Notes

It highlights the fact that Alzheimer’s is a disease that affects people of all ages and generations.

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A Childhood Overshadowed By Alzheimer’s Disease.

AlzheimersNotes.com (A Poem)

Mom! Mom!

Don’t slip away

Into another world,

Another time in life.

Stay! Stay!

In today’s world;

We need you here

With all of us.

 Why?  Why?

Does this happen?

You lose your memory

And slip  far away.

Mommy!  Mommy!

Granny’s fun;

She tells us stories

When she was small.

(c) 2008 Mary Emma Allen

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Alzheimer’s From Different Views