I Reached for Him and He Was't There

Not every morning, but some mornings it happens. I roll over, barely awake, fully expecting that he will be there. But he's not. My brain quickly makes the adjustment...It's incredibly sad. But I don't dwell on it. I get up, out of bed and start my day.

Jim's birthday was Saturday; he is 69. I had a small gathering to celebrate: our good friends Mike and Sally (Mike has been a lifesaver throughout this whole dementia journey) and his brother Bill. We used the fireplace room, which is a quiet, small room with table and chairs. The door can be closed for privacy. We had the Ultimate Chocolate Cake from Wegmans, ice cream, balloons and presents.

It was interesting to watch Jim open his presents. It almost reminded me of a very small child at Christmas, who is more interested in the paper, the box and the bag. Jim barely looked at the gifts, but enjoyed handling and folding the paper and the bag. We captured some nice photos of Jim and me in front of the fireplace.

Jim's brother lives about 3 hours away. He periodically will come in to see his brother. Bill has always had a controlling personality, albeit in a quiet and polite manner. Before he became ill, Jim could always hold his own with his brother, setting him straight and refusing to allow this personality defect to interfere with our lives.

Since Jim became ill, Bill has been unable to alter his approach with his brother.  When visiting, Bill would quietly insist that Jim do something; if Jim didn't respond, Bill would persist and  insist, until Jim blew up at him. The crazy thing is that it is always  over inconsequential things. Nothing that is important. (Example: Bill offered to help Jim open his milk carton. Jim said "no". Bill persisted by saying "I'm only trying to help you." Jim again says "no". Bill then proceeds to grab the milk carton to open it for him. Jim gets angry, swears at his brother and then walks away, now in no mood for his meal.

I have counseled Bill many times, and so has our friend Mike. This weekend in particular, I wanted to make sure that our birthday gathering was not ruined by such foolishness. I was very direct with Bill, warning him to never contradict or insist, unless it was something that was life threatening or dangerous. He finally got the message!

But what has happened now is that he hardly says a word to Jim, just kind of sits there observing. I'm realizing that he doesn't know how to interact with his brother any longer. Jim still has residual feelings about all of this. While Jim's memory is so poor, he would never be able to recount what had happened, he remembers how someone makes him feel. Yesterday when he saw his brother arriving on the unit, he said to me quietly "What an a$$*@#%".

Maybe, eventually, Bill will figure out how to interact with his brother. Mike is a good support in this area. He too, has been very direct with Bill. We'll see. But either way, it is no longer a concern to me. I wish there was a better relationship, but I can't control that. All I can do is to protect my sweetheart from this type of upsetting interaction.

Our house is on the market. I have a lot of mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it is emotionally difficult, as this is a home we designed and built together. So many lovely, happy memories. But on the other hand, I cannot afford to remain in this house. Plus, the house is just to big for one person, and the one acre yard and landscaping is just overwhelming to me.

It's been a busy couple of weeks, getting everything pristine and ready for the photographer and the videographer. There actually is a youtube tour of our home! Very professionally done. Someone requested a showing for tomorrow afternoon. It's not a great time of year to sell a house. This Spring I expect that things will pick up.

My counselor, Dr. M. has been an amazing support to me. I continue to see her on a weekly basis. She has created a safe place for me to share what is going on in my life. She made the observation that by moving now, while I still have the essence of Jim with me, it might be easier psychologically. Given the predictable progression of this disease, if I wait too long to move, it might end up being a compounded loss; the loss of the essence of my sweetheart, and the loss of our home that we shared together. If I move now (or in the near future), it gives me a chance to create a "home sweet home" while I still have him.

Last week I met with our financial guy, Geoff, to go over some of the financial concerns that have been on my mind. As always, Geoff helps me to look at all angles of financial decisions I am making. He recognizes the importance of looking at the psychological factors that weigh into the financial decisions we make (quality of life, the happiness factor, comfort level etc.).

He commented that he was impressed with all that I have accomplished in the last 3 - 6 months. That surprised me, but as I think about it, there really have been a lot of life changes for us during this time period. But I never could have done it without the amazing support from all of the wonderful people in my life.

And that includes all of you, my dear readers. Once again, my heart is lighter. Thanks so much for listening.