CAREGIVING ON A SNOW DAY
I have returned to the town of my Youth. It is here that I am my Mother’s Caregiver.
And so, although I have not lived here as an adult until now; I have lived here in the past. My past. My Childhood. My life way before Caregiving. And as is totally the case for my entire life before Caregiving, I have very fond memories.
Memories come and go at different times for different reasons. I think that’s what must be so difficult about a Dementia or Alzheimer’s diagnosis—it takes away memories.
As a result of a Blizzard, I have been remembering the Snow Days of my past. This Blizzard delivered 37.9 inches of snow, 75/MPH winds, low temperatures, wind chill factors and drifting snowbanks. It was record-breaking.
As a kid growing up here in New England, in the days before “distance/remote learning,” the words we longed to hear from the newscasters were. “No school in Foster-Glouster!”
Our Mother usually prepared a special breakfast. One of our favorites was Cinnamon Toast. And after breakfast we rushed to put on snow attire complete with boots, hats and mittens. We spent hours sledding down the neighborhood hills and walking tirelessly back up them to go gliding down again. Hunger would eventually drive us back inside for lunch.
Lunch was usually Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. A lunch that was guaranteed to warm you from the inside out—just like the Cambell’s Commercial says.
After lunch, if the snow was just right, it was time to attempt to build a Snowman. We created some very interesting, shaped Snowmen. They never quite resembled Frosty the Snowman but then he is a cartoon, right?
Indoor Snow Day games included Monopoly and the card game War. Sometimes it really was just too cold to go out and play. Our Mother played Scrabble with us and she of course always won. She knew so many more words and always seemed to get triple point scores.
A special treat was Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows.
Snow days to remember.
The Snow Days in college were very similar, complete with Snowball fights, no classes and fun times with friends. Although in college, indoor games were much more popular. The only concern on those Snow Days was whether the Football field would be cleared for Saturday’s game. At my school, clearing the Stadium of snow was a priority.
Until now, my Adult years have been spent in California. And although it most certainly does rain in Southern California, it does not snow. There are no Snow Days in LA. In all those years, I never missed a New England winter. It made me wonder if I ever truly enjoyed the winter season or if I simply made the best of a cold situation.
I asked my Mother about me and Snow Days and she said, “You always did come in first. And you rarely went back outside.”
I had to laugh.
Now, I’m my Mom’s Caregiver in the town where I spent some of my Best Snow Days. I’m watching the snow fall from the window. And as the snowflakes accumulate on the tree branches, I’m thinking, “It looks pretty cold out there.”
It’s time for the morning medication, the trash/Depends/dish-washing Caregiver routine which is followed by a shower.
But…
It’s a Caregiver’s Snow Day and so I decided to do something different.
“Mommy, would you like some Cinnamon Toast?”
The weather forecast predicts snow again tomorrow
Caregiving on a Snow Day is very similar to the day before the Blizzard.
FRANK SINATRA – “LET IT SNOW”
https://youtu.be/sE3uRRFVsmc?si=gYI4BTsH_8YY0tPC
A CAREGIVER’S CONSCIENCE PODCAST – “I GAVE UP EVERYTHING TO BE A CAREGIVER”
https://youtu.be/DiFfpHBfyeg?si=BWyrp5g7gP4Y96WA
A CAREGIVER’S CONSCIENCE – THE BLOG
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