February 15, 2021

Just a quick note - John has started taking pens apart and he can't put them back together. He has been unloading a cup full of pens, lines them up, then takes them apart. So there's a pile of pen parts on his desk. There's so many pieces that I can't figure it out either! I'd happily throw them away, but that would upset him. Plus he's concerned that someone is taking some of the pieces, making it impossible for him to put the pens back together. It drives us both nuts!

February 12, 2021

I thought I'd share a couple more positive observations today. When John 'works' in his office these days, he doesn't make such a mess unloading all the shelves and spreading stuff around the house. He seems to leave most of the books on the shelves, only taking a handful of them out and spreading them around. Currently he's focused on taking all the pens out of their cups and laying them out across the desk. That's much easier for me to clean up! I also think he's spitting less. He still spits - still in the sink typically - but not in the neighborhood of over 100 times a day. Maybe it's more like 25 times. Definitely a welcome improvememt. Whenever he misplaces something, he immediately assumes someone took it. He can't think about anything else until he finds it. It's weird how he doesn't forget something is lost! He just forgets where he put it. He 'stole' Edna's phone again this week. We got home from Easter Seals and I heard a different phone chime ringing in his backpack. I searched the bazillion pockets but did not find it in time to answer the phone. Next my phone rang, and I told Edna we had her phone, and she came by the house to pick it up. So now we're trying to make a habit to check to make sure he hasn't stashed anyone else's stuff in his backpack before I take him home! Today he brought donuts to Easter Seals in honor of Valentine's Day. We're so thankful for everyone there!

February 7, 2021

Today would have been my mom's 84th birthday. I woke up thinking that if she was still alive, I probably would have picked her up and taken her to my brother's to celebrate. But then - as I became more awake - I remembered COVID. I wonder if she was still alive, would I have been able to visit her yet, 11 months after the COVID pandemic began. In my mind, there's no justification for denying elderly or sick people from seeing their families. Certainly limited, certainly with PPE, but certainly allowed. I have a few more quotes from John this week.... It gets worse every day. Me: What? The psychological pain. It get's worse every day. Someone has taken my soul. Things have been taken away from me. My ability to make my own decisions. It's eating away at me. He also keeps talking about going out to buy a car so he can drive again. If only it was that easy. John's watching the superbowl right now. Since he used to play and coach football, I asked him if he wanted to watch the game. He said "No, I used to like football but I don't know anymore." So I turned it on anyway, and he sat down to watch it. He dozed off in the first quarter, but he's watching now. At one point I asked him how they get 3 points in football (clearly I'm clueless!), but he said he used to know but couldn't rmember. So I googled it and educated both of us. I got my first COVID vaccine shot this past week. I qualify because of my job. As the Office Manager I'm also the backup to the Health Clerk, so that qualifies me. John will get his first shot in a week or two through his connections at Easter Seals.