Tenet #3 in Learning To Speak Alzheimer’s by Joanne Koenig Coste “Focus on remaining skills” (85).
Another Tai Chi Tuesday
The latest Alzheimer’s tidbit - Remember to Simplify
I thought I was doing just that when I connected a timer to Dad’s christmas tree, but it turns out he just did not understand the concept. Dad kept unplugging the timer from the wall and plugging it into a strip we have behind the entertainment center. Three times I plugged it back into the wall and set the correct time. The third time I put a note under the tree explaining when it would turn on and off and a note to “Not Touch it.” The fourth time when Dad called and said the tree lights came on at 9:00 at night when they were suppose to be turning off I realized the timer wasn’t working. In the middle of the night I remembered Joanne Koenig Coste’s number one tenet: “Simplify the environment” (7). Sometimes the solution is so simple you can’t see it. So, when I went to Dad’s for a special breakfast last Saturday morning I unplugged the timer and put the tree lights switch where Dad could easily turn it on and off himself. The timer has been retired!
Tonight after practicing our Tai Chi, Dad made the comment that he really liked the new switch for the tree lights.
So, remember to simplify. No high tech timers.
Blessings
Pam
"What we see depends upon where we sit.” Ram Dass - This is the opening quote to chapter 5 of Alzheimer’s Early Stages by Daniel Kuhn (82).
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