Lifestyle

I have referred to my recovery from alcoholism many times in my writing. One of the things I’ve learned in recovery is that being grateful can change how I feel—when things are good, they are better when I am grateful, and when things go wrong, it isn’t as painful when I am grateful for other things. Being grateful can give me a different outlook on what is happening around me. Even as people of faith, sometimes it is hard to imagine all that we have are blessings from God. It’s so easy to forget to be grateful for the little things, and even for the big things, and sometimes for the things we don’t have. I have learned that when I am grateful, I look more at what I have than what I don’t have. It’s often talked about as being an attitude of abundance.

“Dementia is not a normal part of aging,” said Maureen Schneider, board chair of the Minnesota Board on Aging. “Timely diagnosis that uses the right tools is key to treatment and support and can create better outcomes for people with memory loss and the family members and friends who care for them.” The Minnesota Board on Aging recently announced the seven entities across the state who were awarded funds totaling nearly $750,000 through the Local and Regional Dementia grants. The grants are intended to increase awareness of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, promote early diagnosis and connect caregivers to resources.

In my last article, I shared information on delusions. As you may recall, we learned that a delusion is a firmly held belief in something that is not real. Delusions can occur in the middle-to-late stages of Alzheimer’s. Examples of delusions could include a person with Alzheimer’s believing that a family member is stealing his or her possessions - or that their spouse is cheating on them.

When Alan’s mom progressed on her Alzheimer’s journey, we witnessed changes in her behavior. After working with families as a Memory Care Coordinator, I realized that these behavioral changes can be very common due to the progressive deterioration of the brain cells caused by the disease. Even though common, these behaviors were often the most challenging aspects of the disease process.

Week three in my August series of The Continuum of Creation: Faith and the Land, again helps us to see how creation is ongoing. This week the main topic is not just creation, but re-creation and transformation. The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” This amazing “new creation” comes through our faith in Christ. And faith isn’t a one-time thing, but a process that continues over our entire life growing and evolving.

There’s a Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant that we like to eat at in Woodbury. The owner, Duc (pronounced Duke), and his wife run the restaurant and all of the food they serve is delicious. They are proud to say that everything is freshly made – and no canned sauces! Even Duc himself waits on tables and likes to interact with the customers. He also enjoys giving people a hard time.

If you already have your will and other advanced planning documents in place, there are some important reminders for you at the end of this column! I recently received an email from Southwest Initiative Foundation (SWIF) with a reminder that August is National Make-A-Will month. SWIF has a valuable partnership with FreeWill, an online tool to write a legal will at no personal cost. SWIF is an independent community foundation whose mission is connecting people, investing in ideas, and building communities. They support many initiatives in our region, in fact, my position at Prairie Five is funded in part with a grant from SWIF.

A week ago I sat softly petting our cat, Tommy. Two days earlier, he seemed completely normal as he vaulted to his favorite sleeping place on top of our dining room hutch. But now, something was definitely wrong. Tommy laid very still – he wouldn’t lift his head, he hadn’t eaten or drank anything for two days and he was very lethargic. I sat “chairside” and slowly petted him – but he didn’t purr or respond. After a trip to his regular vet and two trips to the ER vet, we just couldn’t figure out what was the matter.