The Fish are Safe...For Now!

In 2005, after completing renovations on our home, Don treated himself to a new boat. Four weeks later, Katrina flooded our home and he had to rebuild our home from the floors up. His new boat was moved to our nephew's house where it sat covered for over a year. Once he finished the house (again), he brought the boat home and enjoyed using it for about 6 months before he became ill. Since his diagnosis in June 2008, he has been able to take the boat out a few times with family or friends along to help. He loves to take the boat to Alabama and Florida and just ride out in the open. He enjoys every minute he spends on that boat whether or not he's catching fish.



Imagine our surprise when a Wildlife and Fisheries agent came to our new home and asked if we knew where the boat was located. Don told him it was at the storage facility and we were then informed it was on the side of the road with no motor about 30 miles from our house!! The agent told Don just where it was and said the Sheriff's Office was with the boat and we could go pick it up. He showed us a picture to confirm it was Don's boat, and thankfully, it was in perfect condtion and was only missing the motor.

Don and our yougest son left immediately to go get the boat. They arrived at the location to find the boat was no longer there. We called the sheriff's office to see if they had towed the boat, but they had not. We were told because they could not contact us, they could not confirm the boat was stolen and could not tow it. The boat had been stolen again!!! I must admit I was furious that they left the boat out on the road to be stolen again and did not take the little effort it required to protect our property. All the sheriff's office had to do was call and have the boat towed. We would have happily paid the towing fees.

Well, Thursday morning, the sheriff's office called and said they found the boat and the tow truck was bringing it to our house. I called Don and told him his boat was on its way home and he was thrilled to hear that news...until the boat showed up. It has been stripped of every possible item of use. They even took the seats and the windshield!! It is simply a shell of what it had been. Ughhh.



To add insult to injury, he read the fishing report and there are fish everywhere!! Surprisingly, he is handling this all very well...just another bump in the road. If you're looking for us, we'll be at the fish market!!

Five Feet From Where I Found You...

We have been living with my mother for 15 weeks now as we wait for our new house to be finished. My mother lives in the same house my parents built in the 50's, which Don and I rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina swamped it in flood water. I am back in my childhood bedroom and the night we moved in Don told me, "Well, I've returned you to within 5 feet of where I found you 29 years ago"! I had to think on that a minute, but realized when we met I had moved from this bedroom to the larger room once my sister had gotten married. What a memory he has!

My mother is 91 years old and has always taken very good care of herself. The above picture was taken on her 91st birthday, and looking at the picture I am sure you would think she looks great for 91!! Physically, she is doing fine and still gets around on her own. Unfortunately, dementia has taken a toll on her mind and it has been a very sad thing to witness. I am thankful we are able to be here and watch over her each day. Of course, she does not think she needs to be watched over and when we move, we will only be right next door. Most days, she does not even remember we are building a house, nor does she remember our son lives here with us as well. Almost every day she will ask who is sleeping in the middle bedroom and at night he tells us that she comes in and stares at him while he is sleeping. I know it must be an awful feeling for her to see someone sleeping in her house and have no idea who it is in the bed.

My mother was such an independent woman all of her life that it is especially difficult to see her struggle with simple thoughts, and the inability to remember from one moment to the next. I can have a reasonable conversation with her, get her thoughts on one thing or another, and then, five minutes later the whole conversation is gone, as if it never happened. What a sad, sad disease dementia is, to steal the life of an otherwise healthy person. I can no longer ask her about family stories as she has no recollection of growing up. Occasionally, from the deep recesses of her mind, a story will come back and she will share things in detail from her childhood. The next day, she will have no memory of the story or sharing it with me. I am so fortunate to be here with her and more importantly, I am fortunate that my children are here and are very compassionate about this awful disease. I asked her recently if she knew who I was and she responded, "Don't make me use my brain, it's not working right...I know you are someone who treats me very nice." That was good enough for me! She has recently began taking some medication and I am seeing slight improvement. Last night, I heard her ask Don, "Is Lynette in the bedroom sleeping?" I was thrilled to hear her say my name!!

I am so thankful that Don is here with me and helps me so much with the care of my mother. He has so much patience with her and I often hear him from the other room repeating an answer to a question over and over again, just as if it were the first time she had asked the question.