John: The March Update

A month ago, I was excited about the possibility of Jane's Place -- the adult daycare in Davenport.

I got John enrolled -- and he went on March 17th....the first day they have been open since Covid...

I took him at 9:30, and picked him up at 4:00. I was euphoric!! I planned a lunch with friends...it was a GREAT DAY.

But John hated it...and maybe I made that first day too long...

To give the place a fair chance, I took John back on Friday -- when I thought there might be more people, and I could take him a little later and pick him up a little earlier.... His second day went MUCH BETTER. John got on the exercycle, and he was engaged in a rousing game of Bingo when I got there to pick him up.

But -- the next week -- when I tried to take him for the third time -- he had a meltdown. He did everything but throw himself down on the floor and kick his feet...So, after three strikes, I had to admit daycare wasn't going to work out. Not at this point, anyway.

In my journal, I wrote, "I don't cry every day now..."

And, in many ways, that was the biggest development this month. I arrived at that place... "acceptance"...and that's a good thing. Because it is what it is. And I'll do my best...

March 2021 was tough on many levels. 

John can't dress himself in the morning. Although he is wearing Depends every day now, he doesn't really understand how they work...(I do draw the line on how much I'm willing to share)... 

 One morning, he was being very uncooperative about getting dressed, and refusing to shower...so I left his clothes on the bed and went out to the kitchen to make coffee. Ten minutes later, I went back into the bedroom -- and he had managed to put on his jeans. 

 But, instead of the t-shirt I had laid out, he had pulled the clean Depends over his head...he had one arm through a leg hole...he was STUCK...and it was all I could do not to grab my cellphone and take a picture... 

 So, even on the real bad days -- there are those funny moments... But mostly, John simply does not connect any more...with me or anybody else. He gets quieter and quieter...and he sleeps more and more.