Posted 5-1-19 I was discussing Noah’s Ark a couple days ago at the nursing home with my stepdad. The topic came up because there was a 7-consecutive-day stretch of heavy rain forecast for our area, and everyone was talking about flooding. A Sweet 17’er heard our conversation and was quite interested. My stepdad asked “I…
Author: Mark Applegate
Christian, husband, and dad...and a workplace chiropractic geek and cornbread chef on the side. I am also happily the Director of Systems Alignment for the SeniorAge Area Agency on Aging.
Just When You Thought It Was Safe…
Posted 4-30-19 The shark-infested tidewaters receded yet again and all there is now are a few quiet clownfish, a happy but shy school of neon tetras and an occasional grumpy pair of bettas bickering over who gets the last saltwater Ho-Ho at the ole memory unit. (Oh, and don’t get me on a rant about…
A 5280-Foot-Tall Wall
Posted 4-29-19 “Hitting the Wall” can mean many things in life: To the Cardinals over the weekend, it is a way for a young player to get hurt. To a runner it can mean a metaphorical wall that you run into, often at about mile 20-22, where you feel like you can no longer run….
Mom is Brain Tired Too
Posted 4-28-19 I had a nice visit with mom yesterday, I suppose. She was asleep, face-down on the table. I stayed there for 15 minutes, talking to her as she drifted in and out of Sleepdale. She then sort of got some consciousness going and stayed at a 45 degree angle and said a few…
Brain Tired
Posted 4-27-19 I am pretty booked up today and tomorrow, but I have a busy week of posts lined up next week. I deeply admire 24/7 caregivers. I spent 8-10 hours directly hanging out with and serving mom this week and my brain is already deflated (the 65 hours at work may have contributed too)….
Keeping Score
Posted 4-26-19 My dad and I went to see the Springfield Cardinals game last night. The Cardinals, the AA minor league team for the great St. Louis Cardinals franchise, didn’t disappoint in an 8-0 drubbing of the Amarillo Sod Poodles. (BTW…a “sod poodle” seems to be some sort of a nickname for a prairie dog)….
Dreaming of Home
Posted 4-25-19 Hey! Eight months from today is Christmas! How is your shopping coming? I am deeply sorry, not sorry. Remember, I love Christmas. 😉 I play Christmas music all the year long! You can take the Mark out of Christmas, but you can’t take the Christmas out of Mark. Regardless, as I lay in…
5280
Posted 4-24-19 Mom’s favorite number, at least since she has started struggling with Alzheimer’s, has always been 5,280. You know…that “number of feet in a mile” number? I have mentioned that before, but I am intrigued by the fact that she still uses that number whenever I bring up anything that implies a number. I…
Mom, the Accidental Soldier
Posted 4-23-19 Mom has always admired and appreciated members of the military. I would say she is a pretty patriotic lady and raised us to love and honor the military too. We celebrated July 4th in a festive, pro-USA kinda way every year in our childhood, although we were pretty violent with the fireworks at…
A Tangled Knot We Weave
Posted 4-22-19 Had a great visit with mom yesterday just after church, then a couple short hours later my sister had a rough visit with her. It seems as though the break from routine (lots of visitors in a place that usually has few) and anxiety reared its ugly head again. Mom has cycles when…