Tag Archives: Kathy Bennett

Your Resolution Progress – Reality Check

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We’ll we’re about to finish up January – the first month of 2013. Seems like yesterday I was contemplating my resolutions for the New Year. Did you make any resolutions? Have you stuck with them?

 I didn’t write any down, but they tend to be the same from year to year. Usually my list looks something like this: 

  1. Eat better
  2. Lose weight
  3. Exercise more
  4. Write more
  5. Spend more time with the family
  6. Blog
  7. Etc.
  8. Etc.

I suspect the top three things on my list mirror many other people’s pledges. But the fact is, in the past, I’ve usually fallen off the resolution bandwagon by this time each year.

However, this time was a little different. I’d been doing pretty well with my resolutions until I got the flu about ten days ago. I’m recovering and anticipate getting back to my resolutions this week. I hope I can regain my momentum.

But what about you? How are you doing with keeping your New Year’s resolutions?

Did you promise yourself you’d eat better and exercise more?

Are you finding excuses to not get off your fanny and work out? Let me introduce you to a group of people who exercise six days a week, every week, every year. In fact, they are so excited about getting their workout in, most of these people show about a half-hour prior to the class so they can sit in their favorite chairs. 

Who are these over-anxious exercisers? Residents of Vintage Simi Hills Assisted Living. Many of the class participants come to the class utilizing their walkers, wheelchairs or electric scooters. For some of them, it’s quite an effort just to transfer from their mobility aid into their exercise chair.

The group is generally about twenty to twenty-five people on any given day. Sometimes they miss class because they have doctor’s appointments, or maybe have family visiting.

There are two centenarians in the group. (A centenarian is someone who is 100 years old.) There are at least a half-dozen folks in their nineties. In fact, I’d be surprised to find anyone in the group who isn’t over seventy years old. Their age doesn’t matter, because what they bring to the class is enthusiasm.

The classes are conducted while sitting and the number one rule of the class is that no one does more than they feel they can – no one is to get hurt. We start out with deep breathing and the some stretching. Then each participant picks an exercise they like to do and we all do that exercise.

Elvera likes shoulder shrugs, Esther likes to stretch her neck, Shirley likes to do arm circles. Lest you think the class is filled only with women, Chris likes to do boxing moves and Andy favors any exercise that hasn’t already been done. Andy’s wife Belva likes us to rotate our ankles and if Belva doesn’t choose that exercise, Judith does.

I’m kept on my toes by Mim who sets me straight if I forget what count I’m on. Angie, likes to work her arms, while Rosemary has us swim using four different kinds of strokes. Helen gets her inner firefighter on by having us climb the ladder, and my own Mom wants us to get down doing the funky chicken.

Mary Jane a former pro ice skater leads us on a bike ride, and Enoy gets us ready for the NBA by practicing our dribbling skills. Renee is our ambivalent exerciser and usually lets me choose an exercise for her. Never ambivalent and always ready to go is Sadie.

One of our main cheerleaders during the class is Betty who encourages us to, “Use it or you’ll lose it.” Ellie fights arthritis by having us look over our shoulders – first one side then the other. Vi has us stretch our backs and we should all be as limber as she is!

Ruth likes to do what we call scissor arms crossing our arms in front of our bodies much in the fashion of scissors. Amelia encourages us to take deep breaths and fill our lungs with air. Doris exercises from her motorized wheel chair. Elizabeth exercises wearing a protective boot on her ankle. Ennes with her lovely accent keeps things lively.

Bonnie recently joined our group and goes with the flow. Another new addition is Helen who has visited us several times. Leia has sat in with a couple of times as well. At the end of each class the group shoots balls into a couple of baskets…Watch out Lakers – this team is good!

I’ve volunteered to lead their classes two days a week and those classes are definite highlights in my week. On the other days of the week, this group works out with light dumbbells and exercise bands with Eileen, practices Yoga mid-week, and exercises with Flo and Vanna on the other days.

All these seniors exercise with different levels of mobility and physical and mental capabilities. If they can exercise six days a week for 30-45 minutes…why can’t you?

Until next time,

KMA367

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Movies You Watch, Enjoy, Repeat

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We all have our favorite movies – stories that touch our memories, emotions and, if we’re lucky, sometimes our funny bone.

If I were asked for my favorite movie of all time, without question, I’d say Gone With the Wind. I’ve seen that movie probably close to twenty times. But I don’t watch the saga of Scarlett and Rhett every time the film is available to be viewed. I don’t always have the time it take to watch their four-hour love story to unfold. I like to watch the movie when I know I won’t be interrupted.

Another favorite movie of mine is Witness. But I need to be in the ‘right’ mood to watch it. I’m not sure why. I’m the same way about The Wizard of Oz…I need to feel a little frivolous before I’m ready to go skipping down the yellow brick road.

 But there are some movies that can stop me in my tracks when I’m flipping through channels with abandon. I wouldn’t necessarily say these movies are favorites, but there is something about them where I’ll watch them over almost anything else – I just can’t seem to get them out of my hair.

The first movie that came to mind that fits that description is, Never Been Kissed, a romantic comedy, starring Drew Barrymore and Michael Vartan. I’m captivated by the idea of a ‘fake student’ falling in love with her tempting teacher.

Another classic that stops me in my tracks is the popular, When Harry Met Sally. In this film, Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal argue and philosophize and angst before falling in love.

The gritty film Casino will put me in my recliner until every gangster is either arrested or whacked and Robert DeNiro, as Ace Rothstein, is seen handicapping in San Diego, while his poor wife, Ginger, (played by Sharon Stone) overdoses in a fleabag motel.

And who can resist the discovery of the independence Macaulay Caulken learned as Kevin McCallister in the Christmas classic, Home Alone?

I guess multi-view movies are kind of like shampoo…instead of wash, rinse, repeat, it’s watch, enjoy, repeat.

What film are you willing to watch over and over again, and what is it about that movie that has you captivated?

Until next time,

KMA 367 

Do You Come Here Often?

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Do you go to the movies by yourself?

What about a restaurant?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How about a bar?  

Do you do one of those activities by yourself, but not the others? Which one is it, and why are you okay with doing that one endeavor alone? 

Are you fine with doing two of those options as a single, but won’t undertake the other alone? Which one? Why?

Do you refuse to do any of those activities alone? Why?

Are comfortable doing all those things by yourself? Why?

I ask, because I don’t understand the fear, or the stigma attached with doing any of those things alone. I’ve done all of those things alone – and I’m fine with it. (Can you see why writing is a good career for me?)

A few days ago, couple of friends and I were talking, and the subject of a female going into a bar alone came up.  We were actually talking about Las Vegas and I said I didn’t have a problem going into a bar in Las Vegas or anywhere else by myself. I don’t do it often, but I’ve certainly done it. (And no, I was not alone when this picture was taken. My husband was with me.)

I think both of my friends were a little shocked. I think the general thought process was that if a female goes into a bar alone, there is a perception she is there looking to get picked up. I guess I’m kind of surprised (and feel a little naïve) that, after all these years, the trampy barfly concept is still alive and well. Who knew?

I’m of the opinion that a person who is in a bar to hook up sends out a completely different vibe than someone who isn’t. I also think it’s fairly easy, if you are approached when you’re out alone, to make it clear you’re not looking for a ‘date.’ 

What are your experiences…thoughts?

KMA 367

 

 

 

 

 

Drastic Measures Must Be Taken

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I’ve been retired from the LAPD for about eighteen months now, and I often get asked how I like retirement. The standard answer I give is that I like retirement just fine, however…I’m working harder now than when I was working a full-time job.

I won’t bore you with the many tasks that take up my days and my nights. But, I will say if you think writers sit in front of their computers and dash off ten pages of a novel, then answer hundreds of fan letters, promote their books on television talk shows, and then go sit by the pool eating bonbons and drinking champagne, you’d be sadly mistaken. At least most of us don’t.

My ‘to-do’ lists often have sub- ‘to-do’ lists. It’s not unusual for me to have a numbered list of maybe ten things to get done during one day. However, as the day progresses, I find I’m adding things to the list – or stapling an additional list to the bottom of the first one.

Because I’ve been lucky enough to gain a following with my first two books, I feel pressure to get my next book out there. But I have to find more hours in the day to make that happen. So…

Drastic measures must be taken.

If you know me or you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I’m a big fan of reality television. Until I started to list the shows I regularly watch, I didn’t quite realize how much time my TV habit was taking out of my day – and it’s not just the reality shows.

Here is a listing of the shows I like to watch. They aren’t all on during the same time of year, so I’m not necessarily watching all of these shows every week.

American Idol
Dancing With the Stars
The Amazing Race
America’s Next Top Model
Big Brother
The Bachelor/The Bachelorette
Bachelor Pad (Yes, I’m hanging my head in shame)
Survivor
The Glass House (This was the first season of this show. I’ve only continued to watch because one of the players is a cop. I hope he wins.)

Then there are the non-reality shows I watch.

Southland
Dallas
Longmire
Shark Tank

Then there are the shows I sometimes watch when I happen to be flipping channels.

House Hunters
Storage Wars
Pawn Stars
Say Yes to the Dress
Keeping Up With the Kardasians ( I can hardly look at my screen while I type this. Watching these folks is a very guilty pleasure.)

Then there are the daily news shows.

KTLA Channel 5 (Mornings – sometimes for hours!)
KCBS Channel 2 (Usually 5:00 p.m.)

Most of the shows I save on the DVR so I can watch when it’s convenient and so I can zip through the commercials. But with my reality shows it’s tricky because if I’m not careful someone on Facebook or Yahoo will post the ‘dramatic’ results before I get a chance to watch the show.

Clearly, I need to cut down my list AND how much TV I’m watching.

Let’s start with the news. I can easily cut down in the morning. I don’t have to watch two or three hours of news to see what’s gone on overnight. I can probably par that down to about a half hour. Same goes for the evening broadcast.

The shows I sometimes watch I need to cut out completely – unless I’ve written my word/page count for the day. And then I should only watch them while I’m cleaning or something else where I can multi task. And to be fair, usually I’m watching these shows while I’m having lunch or dinner.

As for my non-reality shows I watch. This is where I’ll stand my ground. I don’t want to cut any of these shows. However, it makes no sense for me to be watching reruns of these shows, and sometimes I do. The endings don’t change.

But where I can make considerable impact on my time management is with my reality show viewing.

I’ve determined I’m only going to allow myself four – and one of those is on during the year when the other three are not. So, who will I be watching and who gets cut?

The four who made the cut are:

The Amazing Race
Survivor
The Bachelor/The Bachelorette
Big Brother

I’m sure I’ll find many more hours in the day if I can follow my new plan.

What about you? What are the shows you ‘must see?’ What are the shows you’re embarrassed to admit you watch? What television show could you give up easily?

Until next time,

KMA367

From the Little Sister’s Point of View

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I have many memories of my childhood, but some of the most poignant are regarding my sister, Susan. We’re eight years apart in age, (she’s older) but our actual birthday’s are only one week apart. Yesterday, she had a ‘milestone,’ birthday. Whoo hoo!

We may both be Leos on the astrological charts, but we couldn’t be more different. We don’t look alike, and we certainly don’t think alike, and our personalities are very dissimilar.

While I’ve always tried to be a people-pleaser, my sister is outspoken and, when I was younger, most of the time I thought of her as a rebel. As kids, those rebel inclinations would sometimes get her in trouble with our mother, who was the main disciplinarian in our household. But in my eyes, they made Sue seem daring and exciting. She did things I would never dream of doing – of course, I was younger and couldn’t even imagine some of her exploits. A quick example: Late at night, Sue used to sneak out her bedroom window to go outside and meet with…boys! I’m not sure how Mom learned about those late-night visits, but once she did, she put the kibosh on them.

It’s not surprising that my sister would be attracting members of the opposite sex. With her long naturally blonde hair, aquamarine eyes, and an easy laugh she was a beauty. I used to watch her getting ready for dates and wishing I were old enough to go on dates too.

And sometimes I did get to go on dates. I think our Mom thought if she sent me along on Sue’s dates, I was a quasi chaperone – even at age seven. Of course, back in those days, the movies didn’t have a rating system, and there were drive-ins where the price was set by the carload, so another person in the car didn’t cost the boy any extra money. What Mom didn’t know, was once we got to the drive-in, Sue and her date would put a blanket out on the ground in the parking space next to theirs and buy me candy so I’d lay on the blanket and watch the movie while they ‘watched’ it from the car. It’s a wonder I never got run over! But it was such a different time back then. Can you imagine telling a teenager today they had to take their little sister on their date with them? Ha!

Another thing about my sister was that she had the most beautiful clothes. In particular, I remember a blue lace semi-formal that made her look like a princess. I don’t remember where she wore it, but I do remember how pretty she looked. (I didn’t get to go on that date.) As I got older, sometimes I would get her hand-me-downs. When I was in junior high, Sue gave me a pair of pink Mary-Jane shoes that had thick stacked heels. I loved those shoes and had a dress that matched them perfectly. Unfortunately, as I continued to grow, I couldn’t fit into her size 5 shoes anymore.

Another vivid memory I have is playing hide and go seek with my friends. In the summer, all the kids would play in the street until it got dark. Well, on this summer evening, we were playing and I recognized a car coming down the street as belonging to a boyfriend my sister had just broken up with. To my shock, the boy drove his car right into the back of a car that was parked across the street! When the police came, (a HUGE deal on our street,) the boy said he was driving down our street trying to get a glimpse of my sister. He’d taken his eyes off the road and crashed. Ah, the price of young love.

But there have been times – although very few – where my sister and I were in sync, and totally agreed on something.

One of those times was when the decision was made that Mom’s Alzheimer’s disease had gotten to the point where it was no longer safe for Mom to live by herself. We made arrangements to move Mom to assisted living. We found a place that we both loved, but that still didn’t take away the guilt of moving Mom out of her home. What made it worse was that Mom refused to even discuss having other living arrangements. So, Sue and I formulated a plan where we’d take Mom to a movie and the rest of the family would move Mom’s belongings to her new assisted living facility while we were gone. Instead of taking Mom home, we’d be taking her to her new assisted living home.

On that day, both Sue and I were quite emotional, but couldn’t show it or Mom would wonder what was wrong. It’s one of the few times that Sue and I have been united in purpose and thought. We didn’t like the task at hand, but we knew it was necessary.

The movie we’d taken Mom to see was a highly acclaimed film, but I didn’t care for it. And to my surprise, as the three of us walked out to my car, Sue said, “I didn’t like that movie,“ and then stated her reasons for not liking it. And the reasons she didn’t like the movie were the very causes that the film was being celebrated. But in that particular case, it was as though she’d read my mind. She’d articulated my feelings about the movie perfectly.

Was it the emotion of the day that had us relating? Or…gasp…perhaps we’re more similar than we think.

KMA367

I’ve Got an Ace in the Hole

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For two weeks I’ve had my poker face on…and it’s been killing me.

Robert Gottlieb of the Trident Media Group is now representing me!

For those of you who aren’t involved in the publishing industry, I will just tell you that when I was previously looking for an agent, I took one look at the client list at Trident Media Group and skipped them as ‘being out of my league.’ I’d also previously heard Mr. Gottlieb described as one of the best and most powerful literary agents in the country.

So, you can imagine my surprise when, the very day I was leaving for the Romance Writers of America national conference, I had an email from Mr. Gottlieb. It turned out he’d read my book, A Deadly Blessing and was ‘enthralled’ and wanted to know if I had literary representation.

After a few e-mails back and forth I learned he was going to be in the area of the conference I was attending. By chance, his agency was having a party within walking distance of my hotel and he invited me to attend. We talked, and as they say, the rest is history.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about this move. I’ve enjoyed moderate success self-publishing my books. I’ve been able to make all the decisions regarding my books and my career. I like having control. But I also know there are other literary avenues available to me. I just don’t have the know-how, the connections, or the time to investigate those options.

Just like the professionals I’ve hired to help me get my career to its current level, I’m thrilled to now be affiliated with one of the best agencies in the country to help me achieve even more.

I didn’t need any further confirmation I was making the right choice, but when I opened up the daily paper and saw my horoscope for the day I had to smile…

I won’t know until we actually start working together exactly how this collaboration will work. But I’m a gambling kind of gal, so I’m all in…and I think I’ve got a winning hand.

KMA 367

Things Are Just Ducky!

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So, last Thursday I had kind of a stressful day.

My husband was scheduled for a medical procedure where he would have to be put under complete sedation. Amongst other things, this test was to be sure he didn’t have anything ‘bad’ going on inside his body. I tried not to show it, but I was seriously worried.

Thankfully, the procedure went well and all appears to be under control. However, he did need some prescription medicine. So, after I got him home and resting in bed, I headed off to the grocery store to get his prescription filled and do a little grocery shopping. After picking up some meat, ice cream, cottage cheese, wine and milk, I headed home.

Forgive me while I go into details about the scene I’m going to describe. One of the main roads in my neighborhood is a four-lane street with a raised center divider. There are also left turn lanes at the intersections. This roadway is fairly busy and people drive way faster than they should. On each side of the road there is vegetation of grass, plants and shrubs. The center divider also has flowers, trees, and plants. It’s a lovely neighborhood.

I’m driving home from the market and see some road-kill in the street. I don’t look too closely, because it always breaks my heart to see the dead animals. I come to a signal-controlled intersection. The intersection is a ‘T’ configuration with the top part of the ‘T’ being on the four-lane road, and the ‘support’ section of the ‘T’ being a side street.
I’m in the number #1 (left) lane of the street. There is one car in front of me, and one car in the lane next to me. There is no one directly next to me. We are all stopped at a red light.

The light changes and the car in front of me surges ahead. Suddenly, a gaggle of ducklings veers from beneath that car and heads toward the car in the #2 lane that is now beginning to accelerate forward. I’m thinking I’m going to witness a duckling massacre, but the little guys were fast and got out of the way of that car in the nick of time by running back my way. I put on my hazard lights and put my car in park and start to get out of my car. Which sends the little guys back into the #2 lane.

I look in my rear-view mirror and I see a car fast approaching in the #2 lane. I did what any normal human being would do…I pulled my car across both lanes of traffic, which had the desired effect of slowing down and stopping all the approaching traffic. It would have been better if I’d been in a police car though. Anyway…

I’ve got traffic stopped in two of the lanes of traffic and I’m in the middle of this intersection trying to shoo the ducklings out of the traffic lanes. Another lady is on the sidewalk encouraging me, but she has a young daughter with her and I don’t think she wanted to have her daughter in the street.

I have to say, I haven’t lost my command presence since I’ve been retired. I had all four lanes of traffic at a stop, plus one poor woman on the side street. A lone duckling had gotten under her car and I kept telling her not to move. Thankfully, she was okay with that. Surprisingly, not one car honked or moved – even when the light changed.

Finally I got the ducklings up on the sidewalk, but not before I’d lost two who’d slid into the storm drain. Meanwhile, about seven other people had stopped to help – one of them being a woman who worked in an animal hospital. She had a crate where we began placing the ducklings after we caught them.

Meanwhile, I’m thinking of my husband – who needs his meds and worry that my ice cream is melting. I tell the crew I have to go, but I’ll be back.

I go home, my husband is on the phone, I throw his meds to him, and tell him I’ll be back. I get my groceries and throw the perishables in the freezer and fridge.

On my way back to the scene, I stop at the nearby fire station and begin banging on the door. No one came. Luckily a rescue ambulance returns to the station. I explain to the paramedics what’s going on and that we’ve got two ducklings in the storm drain. To my relief they seem eager to help out.

The paramedics get to the scene and make short work of opening the storm drain. One of the men lowers himself into the hole and after a few minutes comes up with one of the ducklings. Unfortunately, the other duckling was afraid and ran down an off-shoot of the storm drain.

In total, I think we rescued eight ducklings. Sadly, the ‘road kill’ was the mother duck and one duckling.

One of my fellow rescuers was going to take the ducklings to a wildlife animal refuge where the ducklings would be raised by hand until they were ready to be set free.

When I got home, I apologized to my husband and explained where I’d been. When I got to the point in the story about getting out of my car, stopping traffic, and duck wrangling, he clapped his hands and said, “Good for you! You did the right thing.”

I still worry about the duckling that ran down the storm drain. In fact, I’ve been back several times to see if I could see him/her. Yes, I’ve got a soft heart…but don’t tell anyone!

KMA 367

Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right

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Unfortunately, I have to set the scene before I can get to the ‘meat’ of my story.

A couple of weeks ago, I was traveling on a two-lane Interstate highway headed to Las Vegas. There were two lanes in my direction and two going the other way. In portions of the route, the north and southbound traffic lanes are divided, and in the particular portion I was on, there was about a fifty-yard divide between the lanes and there was about a fifteen-foot sloping drop from the highway. It was mid-afternoon and the roadway was fairly crowded.

The highway traffic moves at high rates of speed because it’s mostly a long stretch with very few on or off ramps. Because of this fact, it would be safe to say that most vehicles are traveling at 70 mph or better, most drivers are following the car ahead of them too closely, and frankly, it’s easy to become complacent while driving. There is nothing to look at except the wide-open spaces of the high desert and the huge expanse of sky.

This road is usually crowded with traffic going from Southern California to ‘Sin City.’ For all the factors I mentioned, there are frequently traffic collisions – and for those same reasons, they are often multi-vehicle and serious in nature.

So, I’m by myself driving to Vegas. I’ve got the radio on and I’m trying to think of a fabulous title for my next book. I’m in the left or ‘fast’ lane of the two lanes. This lane is also called the #1 lane and the lane to my right would be called the #2 lane. I’m between Baker, California and Las Vegas, and traffic is winding its way through and down the Halloran Summit.

I’m minding my own business when a white Nissan pulls even with me. As a former cop, having a vehicle side-by-side like that is a little uncomfortable…we were always aware of the possibility of someone pulling up next to us and taking a few shots. So, naturally I glance over to take a look at the driver. I can’t see much of her face because she’s wearing a big floppy hat and her head is down. What I can see is that she is a woman of at least forty and she has dark curly hair, and she’s wearing driving gloves. She too is driving alone.

Now, we’re still parallel to one another and, all of a sudden, this woman starts moving over into my lane! I hit my horn while trying to slow my car and I’m precariously close to the fifteen-foot drop-off to my left. I can hear rocks and gravel being thrown into the undercarriage of my car. I’ve got my arms locked to keep the wheel straight and prevent me from falling down the embankment. The woman veers back into the #2 lane and she drops her speed.

I don’t mind telling you I was pretty shaken. There is no doubt in my mind if I’d gone off that ledge, I would have rolled my SUV. Thankfully, the big Dodge pick-up truck that was behind me didn’t rear-end me.

I’m sure my speed had slowed and I looked into my rear view mirror to see if I could see the errant driver. I couldn’t. She’s still in the #2 lane, but in my blind spot.

I’m trying to look at my right passenger mirror to see if there is any damage because I’m not positive that we didn’t actually collide. I don’t see any damage, but what I DO see the woman in the white Nissan pulling along side of me. I’m stunned to see that as she hurriedly drives past me she is angrily flipping me off!

I yelled at her, “Are you crazy?” knowing she can’t hear me. I threw in a cuss word too. Oh, and you know what she had in her other hand besides the steering wheel…her cell phone.

I was steaming for about fifteen minutes after that. It wasn’t the fact she’d almost run me off the road – although that DID tick me off. It was the one-fingered salute she’d had the nerve to display that really infuriated me. She’d almost killed me and THAT was her reaction?

I’m not a perfect driver and I’ve made some bone-headed moves myself, but on those rare occasions when that does happen, I make a point to pantomime an apology to the driver I’ve wronged. I can’t imagine doing something wrong and then blaming someone else. But I’ve been running into that situation a lot more lately.

What about you? Have you ever had someone do something wrong to you and then blame you, or go on the offensive with you?

Be safe out there!

KMA 367

Third Time’s a Charm

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This is the third time I’ve written today’s blog. No, there wasn’t a computer snafu. I’ve had trouble with content. Here’s the deal…

The first post I wrote I was writing about Facebook and whether or not the social media site was on its way out. It was a good post, citing some of the recent problems with the company and Facebook page formatting changes that I think…suck. I was quite blunt. The only thing that worried me was that Facebook might come after me – or heaven forbid – cut me off for being rebellious. I scrapped that post.

My second attempt at a blog for today led me to write one of my cleverest works yet. It was entertaining, crafty, and funny. So where is it?

Because the blog post involved my husband I thought I should run it by him before posting. Truth be told, I knew he might have some issues with it and I was right. It was just a tad bit too revealing about our personal life…him in particular. He put the kibosh on that post this morning. It’s really a shame. It was darn good writing – if I do say so myself.

So, here we are with my third post, and I’m cheating. I’m doing a reminder that I currently have a contest going on my website where you can win a fabulous prize if you answer a question about my book.

I’m going to try to insert the link to the Code 7 page where the contest info is listed on my website, but I am having some trouble with my blog site. Not enough so I can’t post, but if you can’t access it from this page, copy and paste the link and it should work. If not, go to www.Kathy Bennett.com and click on the Code 7 page.

http://kathybennett.com/code7.aspx

So that’s it. Short – sweet – and a third time treat!

Until next time,

KMA 367

A Gift We Both Enjoyed

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My mother has Alzheimer’s disease. She lives in an assisted living residence and is quite content there. In fact, so much so, that it’s hard to get her to leave her ‘known’ environment. When we do go out, she generally doesn’t like to be gone for too long…maybe four or five hours maximum.

Additionally, while in theory, taking Mom to a movie or other form of entertainment seems like a great idea to offer some diversity, the disease has created a situation where she doesn’t seem to have the attention span for it.

So, with Mother’s Day rolling around, I was struggling to find something I could ‘give’ to Mom to honor her on Mother’s special day. As a daughter of the depression, Mom hates to have people spend money for flowers for her; and in her late eighties, she doesn’t really like new clothes, jewelry or knickknacks for her room. She likes the same clothes she’s been wearing for years, has never been much for wearing jewelry, and doesn’t really pay too much attention to ‘stuff’ in her environment.

We talked about it and I’d throw out gift ideas and things we could do, but none of them were striking a chord…that is until I asked her if she’d like to go to Disneyland. Her eyes lit up and she said, “Disneyland. I haven’t been there in a long time.” She’s right. The last time she’d been there was when my husband and I took her about seven years ago.

I asked her if she’d like to go to Disneyland for the day and then reminded her of some of her favorite rides. She seemed kind of excited and said she’d like to go. I knew it would be a short day at the amusement park, but as I age, a short day was fine with me.

Mom normally uses a walker, but I rented her a wheelchair and we were off for our first adventure…The Tiki Room. Once the animatronic birds began to sing their staccato chorus: “In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room,” Mom was singing along and clapping her hands. After that, we rode a number of rides, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, the Jungle Cruise, and yes, the Indiana Jones Adventure.

When Mom had been at Disneyland eight years earlier with my husband and I, we’d all taken our maiden voyage on the Indiana Jones ride. Mom has never been a fan of roller coasters, but she really enjoyed that jaunt, laughing the whole time. Fast-forward eight years, and she wasn’t quite as enamored.

After we got off the ride, I asked her if she liked it. “It wasn’t too bad, but I don’t think I’ll go on it again.” She did like the fact that she was ‘driving’ the jeep conveyance, and joked we’d all be killed.

We had lunch, then went over the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. We rode the Monorail, she drove one of the little Autopia cars (while I pressed the gas pedal), and then we went on the Disney Railroad that circles the whole park. We’d go to get on a ride and she’d say, “I’ve never been on this ride before,” even though she’d ridden them many times before.

We stopped for an ice cream and then headed over to It’s A Small World. We got in line, and suddenly, Mom was ready to go…right about at five hours. So, we got out of line and made our way back to the car and headed toward home.

We’d both had a great time – actually, I had a fabulous time. It was cool because everything was new to her.

For about a week or so, she could readily remember having gone to Disneyland and some of our adventures. Now when I ask her, sometimes she remembers and sometimes she doesn’t. But one thing for sure…I’ll never forget. It was a wonderful Mother’s Day celebration for both of us.