Brainstorming Christmas 2024

Halloween is officially over at our home. A lot of the parents were taking pictures of their children in front of our graveyard. It was a success. I even got to be a photographer for an entire family.

Tomorrow, on with the Christmas ideas. We are trying to think of how to decorate without upsetting or confusing my mom. The doctor recommended not changing the apartment interior because it will confuse her when we take the tree down. Something will be "missing," and since she has short-term memory loss, she will be suspicious and accusatory that we must have stolen something from her when she can't pinpoint what is "missing." This is what happened last Christmas. So, we are thinking outdoor decorating just like we did for Halloween. Thankfully, my neighbors were all cool with using up the entire shared space to create a graveyard. Maybe we can build a Winter Wonderland in the old graveyard. I'm thinking laying down blankets of faux snow. External Link: Our Halloween 2024

Mele Kalikimaka

My son Chris and I pulled up to my apartment parking lot so he can care for his grandma (she's ailing from end-stage Alzheimer's Disease and needs 24hr care) while we are all at work.  I've learned to not acknowledge or engage with crazy (mentally ill) and twacked out people, from bad experiences.  When I lived in Hawaii, I had drug addicts try and talk to me about drugs because I was out brisk walking.  In Oregon, I had a mentally-ill woman try and knock my food out of my hand as I was eating.  Also, in Oregon, a mentally-ill man tried to punch me while I walking to work.  I learned to not engage.

Today, this mentally ill lady, whom I don't believe lives in our apartment, was yelling at me and my son about nonsense while I was helping him get out of the car (his arms were full of fast food and drinks).  She was angrily shouting, but none of it made any sense to either of us, so we continued our conversation as we were getting our things from the car. Because we ignored her, she clearly yelled that we were "rude."  

Again, she was ignored.  

As we were walking away, she yelled, "Mele kalikimaka!" at us, which got my attention.  I looked back at her and was about to throw her a shaka, but changed my mind and told Chris, "She just wished us a Merry Christmas." He laughed and said, "What the heck?"  Halloween isn't even here, yet.

It must be the lime green "Oahu Grown" decal on Trevor's back window that caught her attention.

Mele kalikimaka, though.  🤣 Halloween is Trevor's holiday, so that's what we are celebrating all month long this October.

Pre-Planning Christmas

Christmas is in 6 months.  My sister, husband, and I have discussed how we will not be doing a Christmas tree this year, because of my mom's advanced state in Alzheimer's Disease.  My mom was loving all the decorations from Christmas 2023, but as soon as it all came down, she was verbally and physically abusive.

I discussed this with her doctor and he agreed that rearranging things in our home can confuse someone in an advanced stage of Alzheimer's Disease (plus she also has Vascular Dementia).  What happened is my sister quietly took the decorations and tree down before any of us were awake, and rearranged the furniture back to the way it was.  When my mom woke up, she knew something was missing, but couldn't pinpoint what was wrong.  She began accusing my sister of stealing, being passive-aggressive, being aggressive, being violent, etc.

My mom didn't know what was "stolen" but came up with a different item all the time, whether it was her pajamas, suit, kimono, and even scissors.  She had no clue what was missing, but assumed it was something of hers and that the only person she could think of that would steal from her is my sister, because she was the one moving stuff around.

My mom has nothing to steal.  She has nothing to even borrow.  My mom is 5 feet nothing, probably 90lbs soaking wet, and in Alzheimer's has poor hygiene and very poor taste in "fashion."  None of us are that little, that desperate, or in whatever era of fashion my mom is in.  How can one steal when you live in the same house?  All of us work and buy our own stuff.  We buy my mom stuff, and in more recent times, much of my mom's stuff is gifted to her through Amazon by my amazing friends.  My mom does not own a suit, kimono, pajama set, or scissors.  She was very adamant all those things were stolen from her, constantly changing the items that were "stolen."   

We also took on my step-daughter's cat while she is deployed overseas.  The cat gets into everything.  She climbs and jumps on everything and attacks things that slightly move, like a foot, a plant, or even dust floating in the sunlight.  She WILL attack and climb the tree.  I just know it.  We all know it.

That said, NO Christmas tree this year, not even with a barrier to keep the cat away.  I did find some cute ideas on Pinterest (actual link to my pinterest board) such as hanging garland over the doorway, and maybe some bulbs hanging from the window sill.  Things that are higher up from the floor and away from the cat.  We shall see!