Today has been a typical day. Mom got up pretty late and went to fix her normal breakfast. I reminded her to take her pills. A few minutes later I reminded her again. A few minutes later the pills were still waiting. ARGH! She finally took them, turned on the TV, and set her dirty plate under the TV. GRR! I went shopping for groceries and did a few tasks. It was a beautiful day. I came home to find her still parked in front of the TV, watching some preacher. I told her it was a gorgeous day, so she ought to get out and enjoy. She couldn't. She was sick. (She has been sick 24/7 for the last 10 years even though she isn't.)
I reminded her about the pimento cheese she had in the refrigerator. She said she would eat it for her (late) lunch. I came back in a few minutes later and she was making soup. She forgot. ARGH! (Okay, I know, part of the disease) She takes her soup, sits in front of the TV and eats, then puts her dish under the TV with her breakfast plate.
One thing I know is that if she doesn't use it, she'll lose it, but I can't get her to do anything. If I ask her to take her dishes to the kitchen, she gets upset and cries sometimes. I try not to sound mean, so that is not it. She just wants to be waited on, even if it means she is not going to be able to walk soon.
How do we keep them living and moving without feeling so mean? I know my mother is avoiding people and life, but she just can't do that and keep living. She thinks I am the meanest thing in the world, I'm sure, and I feel that way myself every day, though I know I shouldn't.
I hear you. I hate when I am nasty after a tough week, or when I have a headache. I try to remember that my caregiving is my gift to my Dad. It is an act of love. I concentrate on the love, and I become gentle and happier. I focus on me and my gift, not the annoyance, and things are better. I learned from a shrink a long time ago. You can't change other people, you can only change how you react to them.
I wish I could be more helpful, as you have given me hope, courage, and great advice. I am grateful for your wisdom and generosity. I know you will find a way.
And refusing to do anything for herself, or trying to get better. I've walked that walk with my mom alone for over three years now, the prior seven with my dad before she wore him out and he got brain cancer and died.
He took her to therapy all the time after her knee broke on three separate occasions. She quit. Bought her weights for strength training, an exercise bike, helped her every step of the way, but she'd have nothing of it.
When she moved in with us, my brother made her promise she'd work on her walking before he went back to Europe. Ha-ha-ha. My dad couldn't make her do it, and I was mean to even suggest it. She loves being the victim and will do nothing to help herself, nothing!
Now she's wheelchair bound in an AL and resents the h*ll out of me to take a weekend off and will do nothing to help herself again in regards to making friends, speaking up for herself if somethings not to her liking, etc. She tells me if she doesn't like something and has me speak up for her. I'm so sick of it. It's always poor widdle me with a kick of piss and vinegar....and guilt.
I struggle with the same stuff daily. It's horrible, isn't it? I go up and down with good days and bad days. It does wear you down. Just know you're not alone in feeling 'mean'. You are NOT at all. Parents resent the role-reversal, as I'm sure I will someday too. (Hope not!, but who knows?) YOU are doing your best in a very difficult situation. Hang in there knowing you are not alone.
i have renter fatigue. im only minutes and one more dog yap away from putting on a one hour audio of the worlds most annoying dogs barking at about 150 watts and going to town to sleep tonight. people f**@in suck so im telling you my empathy is genuine.
Today I woke up and decided to spend some time with her. My mother's memory slipped the past two weeks. Remembering to take her pills even after being reminded is part of it. Today I decided the dirty dishes under the TV and the clutter in the rooms were not going to bother me. I would just sit and keep her company as much as we could stand. It worked pretty well.
Caregiving does take a heavy toll on us. We have to watch things that don't make sense. For example, my mother puts towels all over the toilet frame and on the floor. I don't even ask her why, because I know the explanation will be that something is wrong with the floor and wind is blowing through it. I just pick up the towels to keep things safe and wash them. Then she puts them back down -- what a trip hazard. Everything I say to her has to be said three times, so she can hear and comprehend. And, of course, everything she says to me has been repeated for years -- not her fault, she's making conversation. Still it takes a toll to live this way.
Somehow I don't get depressed. I think it would be called despair. I know that most of the people on the group know the feeling. It is like trying to work through a mental maze that has no exit that is big enough for both her and me. Sometimes I wonder if I'm still sane or if I ever was. I know I'm tough enough, though. I just don't like having to pull myself out of a situation in order to keep things going. It makes me feel like a case manager, instead of family.
I went with my mom's vibe. Life was a lot smoother that way. You can't force people into being and doing what you want no matter how 'good' your intentions. Just let them be and go with the flow.
My mom left dishes on the floor and all that crap, too. I simply picked them up and washed them. The end. What's the point in saying something about it when it's just going to happen over and over again? You'd be frustrated and bitching around the clock. Again, accept what can't be changed...it's all part of the daily routine...
Last Feb.2013 she begged me to move back, as we could be buddies and do things together, etc.and she didn't want to be alone. From day one, without realizing it, I very slowly began to be her slave.The more I'd do, the less she'd do. Everyday, I would encourage her to do something or go somewhere, with me. I would tease her a little saying 'a body in motion, stays in motion'. She is of very sound mind, so I thought she was just depressed. July 30th.was our last day out. It was a trip to her pulminoligist (for COPD) who gave her a pretty good prognosis and told her to keep active. We went to lunch and she kept going on about how she wasn't going back to anymore Drs. within the next week she went upstairs, got into bed and has been there ever since.
And now to get on topic of being mean. I wait on her hand and foot, some days she asks me to feed her, as she can't lift her arms, she is in diapers now as she can't get on the bedpan anymore. ( I have a little hidden camera on her and watch her, she can do all sorts of things) I can't even begin to describe the manipulation she puts me through.In order to keep from going insane, I constantly remind myself this was ,HER CHOICE, then say the Hail Mary....lol
This last Monday, she had me call her "Golden child" to tell him she wanted to go to a nursing home where she can get proper care and that I am so mean to her...REALLY???? Thank God, this brother and I are very close and knows better. Although, inside and not so deep anymore I'd like to ring her neck. Maybe she senses that, when I'm smiling through my teeth...lol
Moral of the story ...keep your elder moving as much as possible. As difficult as care giving is, to add the resentment, that all this could have been avoided along with the feeling of being used. I'm sure caregiving would be a lot easier if she were really sick.
I am in "groundhog day". everyday is the same but hey shes happy at the tv and knitting being waited on washing and ironing done in fact i do all the housework as a therapy an excuse to keep out of her hair!
Ive put her down for daycare!!! well thats not going to happen all i can do is try if she dosnt go then what the hey! im past caring. if shes happy to watch tv all day then why annoy her. I feel selfish sometimes and i dont really know why because i prefer her at the tv all day than wandering around the house "looking for things" OR "creating a mess somewhere". Does that make me mean? im done trying to get her outside she dosnt want to go. They say dementia patients find thier "comfort zone" for mum its in front of the tv in the front room i guess she feels safe there so i have to let her at it.
Just wish I had money to get out and do things everyday wouldnt it be great to go to a SPA everyday then be ready for whatever "shit" lies ahead when we come home!
We would just float in the door with a big smile energised and ready for any crap (literally).
Oh dream on! I tell you if i won the lotto id be in a spa all morning hire a nurse for mum and "do lunch" and "shopping". I know we all have our dreams! hey i won 10 dollars yesterday??? yep things are looking up. Ok i bought a pkt of fags and have had 2 SHOOT ME!
I always imagined you as an animal lover i imagined you living in the country with lots of different animals running around your land!
Give that dog a big hug for me poor thing hes just looking for love and attention LOL I know who isnt!
whodathunk, how about calling your mom out on it? If she calls the "golden child" saying she wants to go a nursing home, take her to one........this would not be a punishment to you by any means.....if anything......respite! ;)
I agree about the moving part. My.mom.barely.walks.at.all. She is wheelchair bound soon if she continues sitting around ALL DAY LONG watching TV....the choices mom has made over the years are coming back to haunt her, sad to say.....sigh.....but I am hopeful assisted living will help........
It can't be easy watching her decline and have no interest in doing things for herself, but that is not uncommon. It must get frustrating for you ((((((Hugs))))))))
One thing I have to be cautious with my mother is not to give her any verbal ammunition. Even as a kid I learned to never tell my mother anything. She would use it against me at every moment and even tell the neighbors about it -- a game of "ain't it awful." That was a terrible feeling like betrayal. Funny thing is that she is still mad at my brother and me for things we did when we were teenagers. I thought about the effect of saying thank you for all she does for me, but realized it wouldn't be honest. And then she would later use my own words against me. I know her that well.
Last night she was talking about all she does for me, taking care of me. She has forgotten that she asked me for several years to come home to take care of them. In her mind I came home because I had nowhere else to go. She worries about what will become of me when she dies, and spoke about changing her will to have me as sole beneficiary. She has done this a few times, but I don't want to do it. I don't want her last words to my brothers to be mean ones and I have retirement savings. Besides, the savings she has came from my father, who would want to leave my brothers something. Then she went in to how I should have never quit working and that the sales job I do on the computer is not really work. I just listened. These words used to push my buttons because they felt so belittling. Now I just hear them as so much yada yada. With all that I do, there's not a grateful bone in her body. It is her doing for me in her own mind. I guess she needs it to be that way.
A few days ago I talked about how dealing with a narcissistic parent can be like dog paddling in water, trying to keep our head above water. I guess you can say this dog has beached and is just laying there exhausted. Isn't it sad when people don't realize what great kids they have?
Well, let me quit rambling. There's rabbit rooms to be cleaned, a bank to visit, and shopping to be done. Then maybe I'll even find time to do some work. :)
It really must grate on the nerves that your mum thinks she is doing you a favour. Some favour! I think realising that it is not the view of a healthy person is necessary to survive. My mother comes out with things that are a** backwards. I have to remind myself of the source. It is sad when people do not realize what others do for them, but, alas, that is the nature of narcissism. Remember to do some good things for you!
Before my dad was ill, but she wouldn't leave the house, my husband and I did hours of research on those beds for her. It's literally been a five year project.
Now it's 'okay'. Awww mom! Really??? Stuff like that can really put one around the bend. Luckily, my mom's not one to return things, never has been. Plus they hauled her 30 plus year bed away. No going back. :)
I think we're in training for WIT. Whatever it takes. And then there's the 'to keep them happy olympics'. WITTKTHO Kind of a clumsy acronym.
"Wittktho!" Could be my new swear word. Ha!
My dad was a cool guy, always hated swearing. He was a total car guy and taught auto body and fender. Chevy was the S word and Ford was the F word. He felt swearing wasn't good for the soul and you could always find a better word. Not a big church guy, just one that appreciated the intelligence of finding a more fitting word. He came up from nothing and was a kind soul that treated everyone with respect. He was the guy that stopped when a car was broke down and either repaired it himself, or got them to someone who could. Geez, I miss him. It still hurts three years later.
My dad was always the one who fixed everything. When he got the brain cancer diagnosis, he kind of fell apart. He knew I would be the one stuck with mom and there wasn't a thing he could do about it. Dad was always the go-between and I know it sorrowed him greatly to have to leave me with the burden. I don't feel sorry saying that, because he knew just how high maintenance she is. The hard part was he lost his speech a month before he died. He just held my hand really hard and looked at me with tears in his blue eyes. Mom visited him once in hospice, because she was 'afraid' to leave the house. His eyes pleaded with me. I will never forget that, making up excuses why she wouldn't visit.
Don't know why I'm venting so much tonight. I do know it takes a long time to heal, especially when you're present with the one that reminds you of the sorrow. Mom also has her own sorrow, which she refuses to talk about or acknowledge. We just don't talk about it. Sometimes I think she feels he let her down if I look at it from a narcissist perspective. She always told him she would go first. That creeps me out. Kind of fits though.
Being reflective lately...and it is coming out. Thanks for 'listening' Jessie and CG's. I love this place.
Your father sounds like a wonderful dad. He sounds like the John Walton type of father. Those type men are so wonderful. Sometimes I wonder how wonderful people pair off with spouses that are not so wonderful. Maybe it's Nature's way of balancing bad with good. You were lucky to have such a good father. I liked him, just reading what you wrote.
Time to grow a backbone and take control of "your" life!! Stop letting these people walk all over you..
Make a plan.. Either put MIL in a NH or get scheduled care for her, present info to husband and SIL and keep walking..
It sounds like you and your husband need to have an unemotional talk about what to do with his mother. You've sacrificed a lot of time. It sounds to me like she needs to be in a facility where people are paid to do the things you do. Is there a reason that she is with you, instead of in a facility? Would your husband take over the care if you were unable to? I would definitely have that talk with him and make a plan.