Posted 5/9/22
“Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.” -Proverbs 23:4
The last couple of weeks have been a blur. I’ll tell ya what. (sighing sounds would be coming from your speakers, but my internet is slow). After Runnin’ Til I’m Purple all week (around 25-30 miles in, I had Saturday and Sunday. Here was Saturday’s timeline:
- 5:15am Woke up. I slept in a little. It was Saturday, after all. 😉
- 7:00 Finished off my omelet
- 7:30 Jogged to our local hospital (about 2.5 miles).
- 8:30 Ran the Heroes for Hospice 10K (6.3 miles)
- 9:45 Ran home, the long way (just under 5 miles)
- 11:30 After shower, worked on a final paper toward one part of my (2nd) Master’s Degree
- 4:00 Headed to Springfield to enjoy the Springfield Cardinals game. It was a special event celebrating Alzheimer’s patients and families.
- 6:05 I threw out the first pitch. 🙂 Thank you again to the Alzheimer’s Association for giving me the opportunity!
- 6-8pm enjoyed the game even though we lost. I had all 3 kids with me as well as my wife, my brother and his wife, their son and his wife and their kiddo, and my dad. Great time to hang with the fam.
- 7pm Was interviewed by the Springfield News Leader (Hope to share a link soon…)
- 9pm Ate some Orange Leaf Froyo with the fam.
Wonderful day. 🙂
Sunday wasn’t as packed, but it was wonderful too. Me and my bride slept in and watched our church’s broadcast. It isn’t ideal, but it is better than missing completely. We were super eager to get back into the swing after the Covid break from in-person church. Then we came home and ate a nice meal. I zoomed to my mom’s nursing home and had lunch with her. It was nice and she was awake more than normal. Then I zoomed home to shop and hang out with the fam.
It was a refreshing, yet busy weekend, but it was certainly a blessing.
Not much to report on with mom this weekend. She has now been on hospice for 3 years. If you are unaware, hospice for folks with dementia is a bit less predictible, especially with mom. In cancer or other terrible disease, hospice is often “called in” along with the family to help the patient with pain and anxiety. That is certainly a facet of end-stage dementia too, but they do soooo much more than that. Mom, for instance, has a new wheelchair this week, courtesy of hospice. She has a dozen or more services received weekly from these saints. Will I run any race I can find to support them? You Betcha! They are amazing.
Later this week I hope to offer a little more of a teaching post. There is several really interesting topics in research that we need to discuss, but I am out of time again. Keep fighting, friends! I appreciate every one of you!
#EndALZ
Last note: A week from tomorrow is my Caregiver support group. We do a Zoom from 4:45-5:45 then an in-person group from 6 until 7 or after. If you are near a computer or near Springfield, MO., I would love to see you and discuss our topic. If you want a zoom invite, shoot me an email to mark.applegate@senioragemo.org or call/text me at 417-955-2513.
(A great pic from this week I stole from my stepdad’s phone. This is, by far, the most she has responded in a month.)
