Another "unique" morning..

 As much as I look forward to the weekends, I also experience dread. The idea of not getting up to get and rush kids through the morning routine and be on time, is alluring. The attraction is deceptive. Medicine must still be given to SIL and she does not handle change very well. Therefore, I do not sleep past 0620 on any given day.

This particular morning brought my "friend" dementia along with delusion. It does happen more often on the weekends. Presently I am chalking it up to the change in routine that occurs along with a lack of sleep. Delusion brought a whole host of people and a guard. These people and the guard would not leave the house and they had friends outside that were just waiting for the kids to go to school.

Even SIL standing at the front door with it wide open and yelling at them did not deter them from hanging about. Pills were not happening if she had any say in it, and she did. I decided that I would move all the medicine from the spot in the kitchen where it has been kept since her arrival in September.

North door latch finally installed

Basement latch lock finally installed

Next on the list of changes to the kitchen area is to remove the magnetic strip that holds the knives and place it somewhere else. Perhaps the laundry room. I sent DH to the hardware store to buy a locking handle for that room. The reason for the handle seems simple to me, but I had to explain myself to DH.

Before I realized that we had been "invaded" this morning I noted several small things out of place. One notable item was that the dirty laundry that had been in the washer was now in a laundry basket waiting to be folded. On Thursday I had moved all of the cleaning products and chemicals from underneath the kitchen sink and placed them under the laundry room sink. Dementia had visited that day also. So, in an effort to ward off disaster I put all harmful things in a new place.

Until this point SIL had stayed away from that room. Well, except the time she exited out the north door to leave with her backpack and purse in hand. I tried hard to keep the area cluttered enough to be scary. Dementia doesn't get scared easily. Another night she got up without me hearing her and started cooking herself a snack. She also had a container of comet on the counter near the stove. Did it become seasoning? I do not know, but that prompted the removal of cleaning items.

It is easy to justify my actions when I care for a very active toddler three days a week. So far, I have not had to explain myself. Until just now. She wants to know where the Clorox wipes are. They are all gone, gone to the laundry room. They are not a necessity, not to me anyway. When someone is sick, sure, but water and a paper towel can suffice for everyday use. Perhaps they are not harmful, but she asked for the Clorox baby wipes the other day. She also offered them to me for the baby at diaper change time.

All of the drama that occurs each weekend really makes me sad for the kids. I know they would love to go out and see friends in the old neighborhood or visit places that SIL would not enjoy. I get torn as DH also needs time to do his thing outside and cannot have SIL tagging along or falling in the dirt. She is as stubborn as he is and is terribly wobbly outside.