march madness

March madness is in the air and we are feeling it. Bob is having a hard time keeping up with all of the games, and we are having a hard time keeping up with activities. Between festivals, and every day activities we are going strong.

Last week Rob played with the band at a Wing Festival. I took Bob so he could watch Rob play. He may tell you that Rob sang, but that isn’t true. Rob plays lead guitar and Johnny is the only singer. Bob enjoyed watching the band, eating hamburgers and getting out of the house.

A few days latter I took Bob to a Chocolate Festival. Sarah was studying time management and wasn’t able to go with us. She stayed home with her father and it was just Bob and I. Bob loves chocolate and I knew he would enjoy this festival. It wasn’t very big and was a little costly, but the main thing is that he saw, he ate, and he was happy. He even called his niece, Lesa to tell her where he was and share the news with her.

This week we have had fun raking the leaves in the back yard. We have a lot of oak trees and when the leaves fall they cover the whole yard. We have been raking and filling bags for a few days now. Bob has tried to keep up with us. It hasn’t been easy for him. We have had to make him stop a number of times and rest.

I took him shopping with me today and he got his hair cut. When the hairdresser made a comment about how hot the weather was he told her not to fear because it was getting down to the thirties tonight. Oh, how I wish. I think the cold weather is gone and it went straight from winter to summer in one night.

One symptom we have been battling with is Bob has developed Obsessive-compulsive disorder, or better known as OCD. This isn’t bad; it is just something we have to deal with. One example: he had a small place on the back of his hand. It was a place that you or I would never even bother with. Bob however, fixates on this spot and rubs or picks at it until it becomes a sore. Once it is a sore, then he has to continue to pick or rub it until it becomes bigger. So, I have to constantly tell him to leave it alone, or I have to find a way to cover it up while still letting it scab and heal properly.

Another example: It may take him an hour to make his bed in the morning because he can not have any wrinkles in the bed at all. If someone comes in and sits and the bed, that is fine, but as soon as you leave he will be up and straighten the bed again.

And last: he may brush his teeth four times in one day. It isn’t that he has forgotten he has brushed them; he isn’t sure he has done it right and wants to make sure he has cleaned them properly. The same goes for shaving.

A good article on this is at http://www.caregiver.com/channels/alz/articles/ocd_in_elderly.htm

Bob has had a good couple of weeks, full of activities, and work. Give him a ring this weekend and share with him some of the things you have been doing and try to get him to tell you about his activities as well.