Welcome to my world!
I’m not where I thought I’d be approaching 50, but here I am. After living an adventurous life, working in weird and wonderful places, I’ve decluttered life as I find myself living with parents and dementia, fending off the spinster label, learning the value of compound saving and hoping one day that my hamstrings will lovingly loosen. A few years’ back, I woke in a panic wondering if this was it? Then one morning I found a carrot in the cutlery draw, and I realised, whatever ‘it’ is, it’s actually all okay, well for the most part anyway…
Does toothpaste go under your arm?
There was a time when I thought sleeping in on a Sunday until 11am was my ultimate bliss. Not anymore. While I still dream of being that person who can get up for a 6am yoga class to salute the sun before it’s up, I am definitely the type who finds it hard to languish...
The confusion of concepts
The hardest thing I find with Dad at the moment is trying to explain concepts to him. Explaining relationships, geography and dreams have become almost daily struggles. Take this afternoon’s interaction as an example: Dad distressed as he shuffles down the stairs in...
Did you know a 12 year old won gold at the 1956 Olympics?
Okay, so last week I broke the news that Dad stopped walking. This week, Lazarus has risen from the dead and guess what, he is walking! Go figure. Not only is he walking, he is refusing to use the walker that we hired for him as he is perfectly capable, thank you! ...
This week Dad stopped walking
It seems within the space of a week, dementia forced open a little wider its door into the future to reveal another of its machinations. Dad stopped walking on his own. It hasn’t helped that his deteriorating ability to balance and loss of spatial awareness is...
How I live with a short attention span
When it comes to starting things, I’m like a match that’s just been struck - an explosion of heat, energy and purpose. I’ve sailed through life with this unending source of curiosity and excitement about all my new ventures (and adventures). But just as every match...
Why I’m happy to live with dementia
There are some things I love about dementia. I especially love that it's unlocked a side of my Dad I'd never seen before. For most of my life, I struggled in my relationship with Dad. He was raised and still lives by a code of conduct shaped by his post-war Catholic...
How I nearly lost it as a mystery shopper
Just as a man is not a financial plan, I know my weekly Lotto ticket is not an investment. That’s why I’m trying to find other ways to raise my bank balance so I can retire at 60, and how I recently added mystery shopper to my long eclectic resume.
Turns out there are knee braces for dogs
Each night as I come home from work, I'm greeted by my folks and my small 13 year old pup, Mikey, happily watching the evening news. Usually Mum is trying desperately to hold back my canine ugg boot from launching himself off the lounge and onto me as if we're...