Lifestyle

“Dementia is not a normal part of aging,” said Maureen Schneider, board chair of the Minnesota Board on Aging. “Timely diagnosis that uses the right tools is key to treatment and support and can create better outcomes for people with memory loss and the family members and friends who care for them.” The Minnesota Board on Aging recently announced the seven entities across the state who were awarded funds totaling nearly $750,000 through the Local and Regional Dementia grants. The grants are intended to increase awareness of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, promote early diagnosis and connect caregivers to resources.

My mom was gifted at handiwork. She could crochet anything, knit if she had to, sew the most intricate dresses, cross stitch, stitch hardanger, and even tat. When I was young and she was teaching me to crochet, I’d get stuck in the directions, and she’d say, “Just do what the directions tell you.” I still have to do that today. I like to read “into” the directions, rather than just follow them, and I have to have directions in order complete a project. But my projects are never as complicated or intricate as my mom’s pieces were, even though I have a few things I’ve completed when I have extra time.

In my last article, I shared information on delusions. As you may recall, we learned that a delusion is a firmly held belief in something that is not real. Delusions can occur in the middle-to-late stages of Alzheimer’s. Examples of delusions could include a person with Alzheimer’s believing that a family member is stealing his or her possessions - or that their spouse is cheating on them.

This is my second week on blessings and I’m focusing on community. Community is more than just the place you live, it is really about the connection and importance of every human being in our lives. It’s amazing to think about just how many people “every human being in our lives” really is! If I think about the number of people I might come across on an average day, just a trip to get groceries, with a stop at the post office, and lunch at local café could bring me into contact with 50 to 100 people. I may not know all of them, but I may have an impact on many of them, even if I don’t know it. And I know many of them have had an impact on me from a smile, or a hi, or even a conversation with me, this is a blessing!

Finally, my last piece for the August series of The Continuum of Creation: Faith and the Land.

Week three in my August series of The Continuum of Creation: Faith and the Land, again helps us to see how creation is ongoing. This week the main topic is not just creation, but re-creation and transformation. The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” This amazing “new creation” comes through our faith in Christ. And faith isn’t a one-time thing, but a process that continues over our entire life growing and evolving.

There’s a Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant that we like to eat at in Woodbury. The owner, Duc (pronounced Duke), and his wife run the restaurant and all of the food they serve is delicious. They are proud to say that everything is freshly made – and no canned sauces! Even Duc himself waits on tables and likes to interact with the customers. He also enjoys giving people a hard time.