Posted 7/20/22
And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin. -Gen 35:18 (Gill’s Commentary: “that she called his name Benoni; which signifies “the son of my sorrow”, having borne and brought him forth in sorrow, and now about to leave him as soon as born, which might increase her sorrow; or “the son, of my mourning”; as Aben Ezra and Ben Gersom interpret it; or “the son of my strength“, all her strength being exhausted in bringing him forth: but his father called him Benjamin; that is, “the son of the right hand“, being as dear to him, and as beloved by him as his right hand; or who would be as the right hand to him, his staff and support in his old age; or else as being the son of her who was as his right hand, dear and assisting to him.”
Commentary Link (I encourage you to read all of Genesis. It is much more important than you know if you just stop after the first few chapters)
I love a good storm. In fact, I would sure go for a good ole thunderstorm right now. 🙂 Why? Here is our forecast:
“But it is a dry heat” they say…
Yes. A microwave is also dry heat, but I wouldn’t want to sit in one of them either…
So I am hoping for a thunderstorm.
One of my favorite things about thunderstorms is Reed Timmer, and storm chasers in general. They brave storms to bring us, sitting in our basements, footage and information from an on-site account. Here is a smattering:
LINK and his car Dominator: LINK and LINK oh…and one with Gizmo: LINK
Back to the Dominator. The Dominator is/was a reinforced storm chasing vehicle. It still took a beating because the storm was stronger. Reed Timmer still refers to it often and, in a typical storm chase, the word dominate comes up often. I love it. Research and watch his videos. Here is one more:
If a vehicle called the Dominator gets defeated by the storm…as it did several times…what does that say about the storm? It is powerful. It is doing the dominating.
This whole hodge podge intro makes me think of dementia in a few ways (Extracting Tornado-shaped collector’s shoe horn from shoe horn cabinet) :
- We are fighting to defeat Dementia. My part is guinea pig and fundraiser and helper. The brainy ones are using the data and the money and a smidge of help and are searching far and wide. Right now, all attempts have been dominated. However, we are getting closer every day. Just like comparing the Dominator’s ability to fight off a tornado with my Tempo One’s ability, we are making strides. Don’t give up!
- Storms are scary up close– As you can see from Reed’s videos, storms get exponentially scarier the closer you get. So does dementia. Still…please get close and understand it better. Help those in the storm while you are at it. Don’t run away…join the fight. The more Dominators that are built, eventually one that can withstand the storm will be discovered…
- The verse about Benjamin above reminded me about right hand dominance. (Note: sorry Lefties…it is left hand dominance for you…so the analogy isn’t perfect) Remember a couple of things about hand dominance: When you approach your loved one with later stage dementia, see if the right hand/their dominant side is better to visit and hold the hand of. It is a natural thing we are wired with.
- Have a wanderer? Consider retracing their steps going right/dominant (perhaps multiple times). According to Ben Molina, in a great presentation he gave on behalf of the Alzheimer’s Association, it is very common for a wanderer to favor their dominant side as they wonder off. I suspect this may also apply to things in the house, to hiding things, and to other things that have you guessing. Think dominant side first. Not a hard rule, but a solid, educated guess.
Strange brew of wisdom, I know…but it is what came to mind today. Now, let’s go out and dominate this disease… and love on our loved ones in the process.
#EndALZ
Update- Heading to see mom shortly in the sauna that is my Tempo One. 104 outside, 154 inside. We’ll all be complaining about snow soon… I look forward to seeing mom. It has been too many days since my schedule allowed me time. 🙂
I don’t chase storms. In fact, I got a C in Meteorology in college, and that just barely. I just watch it on YouTube. 🙂