Riley and I are currently having a staring contest. Every time I say "I love you" to him he wags his tail. Love my little man.

I love that image of you and Riley, Alpine ❤️
Turps, that is a lovely dream and so glad you found it comforting
Enjoy the wrapping Hev
Aly, I’m so sorry 🤗 As Alpine said, as much as it is possible for you to emotionally separate yourself from your moms bad behavior, that may help. Pretending like she is a patient is a good strategy. It doesn’t take away your pain, but having this mind set may make it a little less difficult.
On another note, I just can’t believe how many of us here have parents who had or have dementia! When my dad was alive, I attended regular Alzheimer’s Association support groups, held over Zoom in the last year. They also have a great online forum.
Grateful I got all my work done yesterday. Just have a few emails today. Tomorrow is fun team meetings
Grateful for my little cat/cog Daisy sitting on my lap
Grateful to put a little space between myself and a friend who has become a bit toxic. She’s in a bad relationship, drinking too much and spreading bitterness. Not something I need
Grateful for all of you

Grateful for all of you here
Grateful I’m retired
Grateful this is a world wide group, so when I thoughtfully respond later, ‘it’ll be ok’
Grateful for coffee and cottage cheese ☕️☕️☕️☕️🧀

(((Aly))) I'm sorry your mom is being so difficult. :( Try to remember she's not in her right mind and that it's the dementia talking. :hug:

Grateful to get one errand out of the way already.

Grateful for coffee. :)

Aly & everyone dealing with the horribleness of dementia & Alzheimers - I am so sorry for what you're dealing with & trying to manage.
Aly I agree that a support group would be very helpful - would that be a possibility? I am sending up prayers. :hug:
My very sweet, kind neighbor when I was a kid had dementia. He was a teacher - lovely man. As the disease got hold of him he turned into the exact opposite of what he'd always been. He yelled at us, threw junk onto our property, accused us of things that never happened - even shoved & hit his caregiver who spent days with him while his wife was at work. But as much as we tell ourselves it's the disease & not the person - it is so hard to take. We need help in understanding it & figuring out how to cope.

I am grateful for all the posts today - I have to go for now though.
:grouphug:

Aly, so very sorry for the situation with your mom, after you work so hard to care for her. My mom had dementia too before she passed, but mostly it made her sweeter than in the past -- we were lucky that way. We also had tensions among my siblings about who was helping and not helping. We're here to support you ... as you try to navigate this difficult time and figure out the best solution.

I'm grateful that I eventually got some sleep, even if that means getting up after 10 and posting here late. I'm sure my insomnia bears absolutely no relationship to my continuing, out of control, massive chocolate binge. :lmaoIt really might be time for a chocolate intervention on myself. Maybe I need to take the Christmas stockings to the kids' house, so I can't keep eating all the chocolate and then buying more to refill the stockings, then starting the cycle over again.

Grateful to lay a wreath on Mr. T.'s grave yesterday, and my parents', and to have a good healthy cry. Grateful, so grateful, for the birds that visited the cemetery while I cried -- yellow-rumped warbler, western bluebird, juncos, and ** two red-shafted Northern Flickers ** a really beautiful bird that I have not seen here before.

Grateful for people receiving and experience joy from and with pets (Alpine, least, fearless, etc)
Grateful for the universe sending us signs our loved ones live on through us (Tusiops)
Grateful for chocolate (dark with almonds) keeping the likes of us awake instead of alcohol
Grateful for good advice to Aly, my prayers extend to you
Grateful NL, you stood up for your son, both of you need that
Grateful to get 5 downhill ski runs amid the COVID international crowd
Grateful to walk my steep walk after skiing and before a healthy lunch
Grateful to steal this phrase: EXTREMELY grateful for the strength and resolve to be sober today

Love to all
​​​​​​​🤓

Free, I like your last Grate. I needed that today.

Grateful I can read and learn more about dementia and hopefully help me cope with mum-in-laws illness.
Grateful I’m sober.
Grateful for the food market opening at 7am this morning.
Grateful for all of your Grats. :grouphug:

Grateful to mark 12 years and 6 months sober today. Recovery literally saved my life. For that, I'm eternally grateful.

Grateful for another day sober.

Fearless, is there a particular Alzheimer's group you would recommend? That would probably be really helpful to some of us. :grouphug: Hev, that situation with your neighbor sounds so scary and sad.
Alpine, I love picturing you and Riley, so adorable.
Free, your descriptions of your skiing lifestyle is almost making me want to get back on the slopes again, even if it's just for that happy exhaustion that leads to great sleep. ;)
Turs, I'm totally with you on the chocolate (and sweets of all kinds - it's a problem). But as others always point out, in the grand scheme of things at least it's not alcohol!

Grateful for coffee (so good today).
Grateful for telework.
Grateful I was able to go to the office today and meet with someone I've been avoiding - it went a little better than I expected.
Grateful for the chance to watch funny SNL Christmas clips with my younger son. Grateful he always helps out without complaining.
Grateful that both kids went to the church to drop off a card and cookies to the pastor. We don't attend mass as often as we probably should, but it's nice that they feel a connection to the community anyway.
Grateful some of my Amazon packages arrived. I go back and forth between hating the holiday stress, and loving all the lights, color, sweets and just overall excess and festive fun of Christmas.
Grateful for my comfortable bed, especially at night when I'm getting into it sober.
Grateful for the mantra "I will not make myself small."
Grateful to be sober, and for this thread and everyone here.

Grateful for a nice conversation with Mr. Alpine last night after a not so nice conversation earlier in the day. While on Teams Mr. A was talking with Riley and Riley was looking at the speaker on the computer and tipping his head. Mr. A then asked Riley to sit and he did. LOL. Poor Daddy is living in the computer.
Grateful I kind of slept...I woke up shortly after I went to sleep. Denied myself for quite a while to look at the time. Eventually did and it was 130am. Eventually fell back to sleep, woke up again at 230 then again at 4. I will take it. woot woot.
Grateful for the coldness to the air.
Grateful I am figuring out my grandmother's old sewing machine she used to use on their boat. They lived on their boat on Lake Erie during the summers and spent the winters in Florida.
Grateful that I got to know both sets of grandparents. They passed away many many years ago.
Grateful I found SR and all of you.

Wooot woot FBL!!!! 🎉🎊🪅🪄❤️🙏🏼🤓

Wow, 12 years and a half.

It will be my reality too, let’s see, that will me Feb 28, 2032. Hope to see you all at my party too.

Grateful Alpine didn’t drink after a a yuckier conversation with hubby, and had a nicer one later
Grateful I was on SR sooooooo lonnnnnng yesterday. I needed it.
Grateful for coffee☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️
Grateful to be retired
Grateful to have an awkward conversation with Dr Free last night
Grateful we resolved it mutually acceptable
Grateful for Palmer Sage mantra, I’m using it 😉
Grateful for another showcast storm coming tomorrow through Saturday. I love those ❄️☃️🌨⛄️

FBL, congrats!
Turps, glad you got to visit Mr Ts grave. I will take a virtual visit to my Dads soon
Free and Alpine, glad you resolved the issues with your hubbies. Mr F was really annoying me last night, and we got over our thing too. Lol
Palmer, I’m going to go out on a limb here and hope Dee doesn’t get mad at me for posting this, or delete my post. So many people could use support and Alzheimer’s Association is a good group. Too many of you to pm about it. Not that I am endorsing or supporting them or asking you to donate or anything. Lol. I can’t send a link to them but if you Google search Alzheimer’s Association support groups it will lead you to AlzConnect and you could join an online. You can also search for find local community from their site.
Grateful I got my Dooney bag. Hev, I will pm you a link to their online outlet. I had a post removed from sending it here last week 😜
Grateful for coffee
Grateful though I didn’t sleep well. It’s not from drinking and I know the insomnia will pass
Grateful this really low mood I’m in will pass too. Not sure what’s come over me. Really down this morning
Grateful my call in a little while is an internal team meeting which I am not leading. I don’t have to have my camera on.
Grateful to be getting together with two close friends for dinner
Grateful to be having another cup of coffee ☕️ 😊

PalmerSage - That simple mantra may have gotten through to me back when I was still sabotaging myself. I love it.
FBL - Congrats on your 12.5 yrs! How wonderful.
Tursiops - Agreed, there's a massive chocolate binge coming on....:yumyum:
Alpine - Grateful you had a better convo the 2nd time.
Fearless - Thank you! I've seen a few I must have. :yup: Or one - one's ok too. :tongue:
Grateful for all the humor & wisdom here every day.
Grateful to know I will not ruin the holidays by becoming numb and stupid.
Grateful to have almost all wrapping done. Yesterday I think I wrapped my pen in with one of the presents....can't find it anywhere. :)
Grateful every day for decent health.
Love to all.

Fearless, sorry you are feeling low this morning.
Grateful for all your updates & knowing I can check in here every morning to hear how people are feeling.
Grateful for a good night's sleep.
Grateful for rain.
Grateful for my cozy little house and a fireplace that works.
Grateful for some plans with family on Christmas morning and the week after.
Grateful for connection.

Alpine that is so cool your grands lived on a boat. My parents did too for a year and a half when my dad retired from the Navy. I spent time on it with them but got shipped off to boarding school so they could travel.
PS I totally understand your love/hate relationship with Christmas.
FBL congrats on 12 1/2 years!
Mags I need to read about dementia too. I bought a book titled The 36 Hour Day that was recommended.
Free how wonderful it must be to be able to go skiing.
Turs chocolate is better than alcohol absolutely!
Hev I still have lots of wrapping to do. And maybe more shopping. I got so behind on work and holiday prep when I went down to see my mom in the hospital.
Fearless I hope you feel better soon. Maybe your friends will cheer you up.


Grateful that the oncologist said he is 90% certain my mother does not have cancer. The fluid in her abdomen is from malnutrition. So she needs to eat more and move more(OT and PT). She has been moved to another rehab facility affiliated with her retirement community.
Grateful to be done with work until January so I can focus on my family and myself honestly.
Grateful for my sobriety.
Grateful I finally made it here today after several tries. I was interrupted by work, calls from the hospital and a small crisis that seems to be resolved about COVID exposure of my granddaughter.
Grateful my daughter is cooking tonight.
Grateful for SR and all of you.

CBS that is great news about your Mom. I will continue to keep her in my thoughts.

CBS such good news from your mom’s oncologist. :hug:
Thanks for the book/web site info CBS and Fearless. I’ve started a book called “finding the light in dementia “ by Jane. M. Mullins. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Congratulations FBL :You_Rock_

Grateful for all your Grats filled with humour, honesty and integrity :You_Rock_
Grateful for another day sober.
Grateful for SR and what I have learnt from amazing, like minded people round the globe…:grouphug:

:Xmasta

I'm marking it on my calendar!

Grateful for another day sober.