How to overcome the difficult days

What do you do when the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning is, "OMG, not another day!" Well, I just think of this song by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers,  http://youtu.be/AGUsRGuZb6k "pick yourself up and dust yourself off and start all over again!" Sometimes that's easier said than done, however; when you've not had much sleep from the night before and mom wakes up at 6:30 a.m. instead of her usual 9 a.m., things do not get off to a good start usually. There are a few slogans that I tell myself in this situation: "How Important Is It?" to get upset and lose my cool? Is it worth ruining my day? Is it worth ruining hers? Is it something that is going to make a difference 100 years from now? Probably not.

Another saying that I say to myself often is "Easy Does It". This is to imply that I might try going easy on myself and others. Life is not a crisis, or at least it doesn't need to be. It's all in how I view it. Another good adage for this viewpoint is: One Day at a Time. I can only live so many hours in a day, no need to get too far ahead of myself. "Keep It Simple" is another favorite. I tend to be a perfectionist, and like most perfectionists, if I can't do it perfectly, I am likely not to do it at all. In these circumstances I need to keep it simple, and try not to do things to an unattainable standard that I have set for myself. Sometimes, doin it "half-ass" is ok! At least it gets done that way.

When exasperated by my mother's long tales, I remember the saying "Listen and Learn". Mom is 40 years older than me, wiser, and more experienced. Just because she has Alzheimer's, doesn't mean she has nothing to offer. The opposite might just be true, "because she has Alzheimer's, she has much to offer me" due to the fact that she remember's the past so well, as opposed to the present that I seem to be stuck in most of the time.

What to do with the long hours of "nothing to do"? In order to not become "depressed" in this situation takes creativity and focus. Mom sleeps a lot and I have to be here (or someone does) in case she should get up, and you never know when that's going to be. If she should get up and no one is here, there is all kinds of mischief she can get herself into! One of the big things I do is "blog" about my day. This helps me to "think" through things, much as I'm doing now. I also chose "projects" to involve myself in, such as garage sales (that I put on), cooking special meals, tending my flower garden, sewing, reading, or watching old movies on NetFlix.

One of my biggest projects lately however, has been starting a home care business of my own. Once mom is gone, my income will cease and I will need a replacement income. There is a real need for home care in my area, so I have researched it, and there is not a local home care agency that is privately owned, just companies such as Integrety Home Care out of Kansas City. I feel people from a small town would rather have someone they know, therefore my motto: "Local people, caring for local people."

My last and most successful method of dealing with difficult days, is to tell myself, HALT! "Am I Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired?" If I am hungry, eat. If I am angry I have several options; beat a pillow, go for a walk to cool off, journal about it, do some physical labor, or exercise. If I am lonely, pick up a phone, or go to a social function. If I am tired, take a nap... which I think I'm gonna do right now! LOL See you on the flip side!