You know you are a caregiver if.....

....you feel you are explaining Quantum Physics to get them to lift their feet to put shoes on.

.....you spend 10 minutes explaining why the meds are set up the way they are... and you get the reply, 'no, I'm not playing Bridge this week'.

This is a hoot!

...if you have exchanged their wallet for medic alert.



...if you find empty candy wrappers tucked away on the floor, the same side of the couch, where they knit and they have no idea where those came from.

If you shake down their bedrooms for the zillions of napkins, tissues (in their night stands pants and coat pockets) last bites of food, hard candy or candy bars wrapped in the said napkins, or tissues!

What is... with all the napkins and tissues???

Napkins and tissues! And if on tables, there is a stack of them all neatly folded. Just weird.

ours folds them into paper hats you know the ones,
we used to make out of newspaper!
The salt and sugar container each are sporting theirs,
I do not know if this constitutes the sitcom TV show,
but as ten second spots, these could be funny to caregivers.

Where is Jeff Foxworthy's video?

you will find it on YouTube search foxworthy caregiving, it is also on AARP website. A google search would probably work as well. It is in many places.

If you just want to scream and instead you keep it all in and keep smiling

you look forward to holidays alone to be away from family drama

you hide when care receiver has gotten up from bed too early knowing that they will not go back to sleep if they know you are up.

You know you are a caregiver when you don't park in the garage so Mom doesn't know you are home yet

You are amazed at how hard it all is.

You are constantly praying that they will go to sleep early tonight/sleep in this morning so you can have a little time to yourself.

You listen for the sound of their breathing to make sure that they are ok.

You wake up every time they go to the bathroom because you're worried they will fall.

You start to buy furniture with the requirement that it be accessible.

When you lick the cork of your care receivers wine and you don't even drink.

I love this thread! Just saw a few I missed. And here's a few more You know you're a caregiver if . . .

you nix the pine cone & potpourri centerpiece for Thanksgiving and Christmas because you know it is seen as food to someone with dementia.

A trip to the grocery alone seems like fun.

You have purchased more toilet paper, tissues, and napkins in one year than you've bought in the last 5. (yes, what is it with those items!?)

the only thing moving fast during many of your days are your thoughts . . .

Wordy-
I love the pine cone and potpourri one! And, yes what is it with paper products, absolutely astounding!

You hear them talk to themself while sitting in front of the large window drinking tea, watching the snow come down, it is 8 degrees outside, and they say
"Boy I love it here" and you just smile to yourself. BRRRR!

When you have to sneak the vitamins in your mother-in-law's pill box because she thinks they'll make her gain weight. (I kid you not)

You are up every night listening to hateful and agitated banter about why she devil has caused all of her problems and her inability to be the way she was.
Has no clue of where she is living.
No longer recognizes her sons.

You know you are a care giver, if you wonder about penny-stocks in tp, pt and napkins???

I think they were not available during the war...

gladimhere, Thanksgiving was at my daughter's house. On her table was a centerpiece consisting of a candle (lit) surrounded by pine cones. While we were finishing up dinner preparation, she glanced over and caught her grandpa picking out pieces of pine cone and munching on them. He probably got enough fiber that day. (He ate potpourri one time, yet I didn't not see the pine-cone eating coming that day.)

You know you're a caregiver if you are far less grossed out by various things than you once were.

You laugh when you realize your iPad has just been used as a cutting board.

Hasn't happened yet, but you gotta laugh. Search on YouTube for iPad and cutting board. Rather funny video, though in German but you can imagine the script! LOL!

tweenaton You are right we had to use torn up newspaper for TP at times.
There was a square wooden box on the seat in the out house to hold it.
gladimhere. grandpa was probably looking for the pine nuts - they are very nutritious

…after you've got the day of the week wrong three times, you start to suspect that dementia is contagious...

and back to the paper products...

there never seems to be a paper towel to come off the roll that hasn't had a little corner of it torn off

This is the BEST THREAD EVER!
You know you are a caregiver when you have so much to say on AC, but no energy to type it! Love you guys!

You wander what life was like before all this happened.