Sometimes you feel like a nut…sometimes you don’t
This past Tuesday I put on my clerical garb for the first time since I retired from St. Nicholas Episcopal Church back in July of 2017. It’s hard to believe the time has passed so quickly. In doing so, I discovered that my pants were a lot tighter on me than they were when I’d retired. I had to kind of scrunch myself into them, by taking a deep breath or two; It was at that moment that the diet light started flashing on and off in my brain.
In my last blog I mentioned that Cookie and I were traveling to Abilene to attend my friend and former student Karen’s ordination as a Deacon. As I thought about what to take with me, I couldn’t remember what I was supposed to wear, robe-wise, to the event. This was rather disconcerting, as I had been to a number of ordinations in the past. Rather than leave things to chance, I texted my friend Father Jim up in Lubbock, and he graciously provided me with the list of appropriate attire.
It was a beautiful service, and I am so glad we were able to attend. Cookie was the designated driver, considering the distance we had to travel. It wasn’t really a long way in Texas miles, but it was long enough for me to need a chauffeur. My world is starting to shrink a bit, as a result of the dementia. No matter, we had a lovely time, and got to catch up with lots of folks. I was one of the presenters, which was a great honor. There is nothing like an Episcopal ordination!
We stayed overnight at one of the local Marriott’s in Abilene, a very nice place. We were in the car getting ready to head out on Wednesday, when I realized I had left my Kindle Reader in the hotel room. I headed back to the front desk with a sigh, and was graciously given a new room key; I then successfully retrieved said Kindle. Never a dull moment with dementia, everyday’s an adventure.
The increase in the frequency of these “senior moments” prompted my doc to up my daily dose of Memantine, adding a “patch” to go with the pills I take each day. Hopefully, this will slow down the recent increase in the senior moments I’ve been experiencing. It’s hard to believe, but there was a time in my life when I didn’t take medication. Ah, for those good old days!
In the Biblical book of Sirach (Apocrypha), these words are written; “Faithful friends are life-saving medicine; and those who fear the Lord will find them.” I am so grateful to all of you who are traveling with me on this journey.
Blessings,
Fr Dave
Reflections on Dementia 