A month or two ago, mom's blow dryer died. For those of you who read regularly, you know of mom's attachment to her blow dryer. My dad thought about replacing it, but it really was for the best that it disappeared as it was becoming a problem. Consequently, mom complains daily about us "losing" her blow dryer. Part of her resistance to get into the shower and wash her hair is due to the fact that she has no blow dryer for her hair (and wet body).
For weeks now, I've been meaning to bring over my blow dryer on the days I shower her. By the time I get the kids off to school with everything they need, I forget to grab my blow dryer (and I head over to her house straight after drop off). I was talking to my dad about it and it turned out that he found a spare blow dryer. He tucked it away in the spare room for me to use this morning on mom's hair.
With how much mom's been missing her blow dryer, you would've thought that she'd be ecstatic to see me walk in the bathroom with a blow dryer in hand. It didn't go over exactly as I thought. To start with, during her shower she continued her mumbled complaints of having no blow dryer, despite me telling her, and even showing her, that I brought my blow dryer over. When she got out of the shower, she went about her usual routine of applying make up and brushing her hair and I turned the blow dryer on and attempted to brush-dry her hair while she was readying herself. She didn't seem to notice whatsoever that I had the blow dryer. In fact, when she was done with what she was doing, she turned and walked herself over to her bed, plopping down and mumbling again about how "he lost my blow dryer"!
For five minutes I waved the blow dryer in front of mom, telling her I brought my blow dryer and coaxing her back over to dry her hair. She stared back at me with no comprehension in her eyes. Then, suddenly, she jumped up, looked at the blow dryer for a second before grabbing it from my hand and attempted to dry her hair. After a couple quick minutes, she turned the blow dryer off so I quickly grabbed it, turned it back on and continued drying her hair for as long as she would let me.
At one point, mom's lips curled down and her eyes became watery as she mumbled something I couldn't understand. It looked as though she was going to cry. She's done this quite a few time recently and I'm not sure what to make of it but it appears that she is sad or upset about something.
"What's wrong mom? What's the matter?" I asked. I couldn't understand what she was saying but it hurt my heart to see her visibly upset over something, especially not knowing what I could do to help her.
In the end, we got her hair mostly dry, but to be honest I'm not really sure if she noticed the difference! I'm not sure if it will click over time or if she will forever mourn the loss of her blow dryer.
Showing posts with label blow dryer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blow dryer. Show all posts
Friday, October 2, 2015
Thursday, September 11, 2014
While We Were Out
While we were taking our trip to Rexburg, I got a call from my sister, relating a phone call she received from my Aunt. Apparently, my Aunt had gone over to watch mom on that Friday. She heard the blow dryer going in mom's back room so she decided to check in on her. If you missed my earlier post about the blow dryer, mom has been burning holes in her clothes as she tries to dry herself with the blow dryer. When Aunt Claudia walked into mom's bedroom she expected to see mom drying herself off with the blow dryer. To her surprise and horror, she found the blow dryer laid down on the stool next to mom, turned on to full heat as mom stood by with a knife in her hand, chopping down on the top of her hair in an effort to cut off the pieces that were bugging her (you can catch up on her hair cutting adventures here). After an unsuccessful search for the scissors, mom got wise and decided a knife might do the trick. Needless to say, all of the knives are now under lock and key.
On Monday, I went over for my morning with mom. I heard the blow dryer going, as always. I was a little wary of the noise given my Aunt's experience the week before. Sure enough, when I walked in mom's room, the blow dryer was sitting on the stool by itself, emitting intense heat against mom's pant leg as she stood over her mirror, applying gobs of make-up on her face. I walked over and without any warning to mom, unplugged the blow dryer and hid it away. While I searched for a hiding place, mom told me I should "support" her and shouldn't be taking her blow dryer away; she was completely oblivious to my hiding place next to dad's side of the bed. For the rest of the morning, mom was upset with me and mumbled comments such as,
"You need to give me back my blow dryer...you should support me...I never did this to my mom..."
It was hard and a part of me wanted to make her happy and give her back her blow dryer, but I knew I couldn't give in to her temper tantrums. I wouldn't give my toddler a knife just because he threw a fit that he wanted it; it's the same scenario with my mom. The blow dryer has become a hazard.
Fast forward to the next couple of days. My Aunt and Uncle have been over taking care of mom and have noticed that the shower stall is completely dry. It seems that without a blow dryer, mom's routine is off and she believes she can't shower. I brought this up with my dad and he came up with an idea to disable the wire that gives heat to the blow dryer. He figured most of the risk would be gone with the heat. He asked if I'd check up on her this morning and make sure that she showers.
I showed up to mom's at 9:00 this morning, right as she was about to start getting ready. She complained of me being in her room, concerned of my seeing her "naked" and a "plain Jane". It seemed as though she planned to shower, so I left the room to give her some privacy. After about 20 minutes, I decided to check in on her since I hadn't heard the shower going. I found mom halfway dressed with her head in the sink. Upon further inspection, I found that the shower stall had only a few drops of water directly under the faucet while the rest was dry. It didn't take long to figure out what mom means when she says it's a "severe shower day". I am guessing that "severe shower days" means she gets her whole body into the shower to wash off; the rest of the days it seems she must be washing her hair in the sink and perhaps rinsing her lower half in the shower. I don't know exactly how long this has been going on, but I think the dry shower stall mystery is solved :(
At our previous trips to UCLA, they always liked to point out mom's strength. At the top of the list was her hygiene and the fact that she was still able to take care of herself. Now that this is slipping, I wonder what is left.
On Monday, I went over for my morning with mom. I heard the blow dryer going, as always. I was a little wary of the noise given my Aunt's experience the week before. Sure enough, when I walked in mom's room, the blow dryer was sitting on the stool by itself, emitting intense heat against mom's pant leg as she stood over her mirror, applying gobs of make-up on her face. I walked over and without any warning to mom, unplugged the blow dryer and hid it away. While I searched for a hiding place, mom told me I should "support" her and shouldn't be taking her blow dryer away; she was completely oblivious to my hiding place next to dad's side of the bed. For the rest of the morning, mom was upset with me and mumbled comments such as,
"You need to give me back my blow dryer...you should support me...I never did this to my mom..."
It was hard and a part of me wanted to make her happy and give her back her blow dryer, but I knew I couldn't give in to her temper tantrums. I wouldn't give my toddler a knife just because he threw a fit that he wanted it; it's the same scenario with my mom. The blow dryer has become a hazard.
Fast forward to the next couple of days. My Aunt and Uncle have been over taking care of mom and have noticed that the shower stall is completely dry. It seems that without a blow dryer, mom's routine is off and she believes she can't shower. I brought this up with my dad and he came up with an idea to disable the wire that gives heat to the blow dryer. He figured most of the risk would be gone with the heat. He asked if I'd check up on her this morning and make sure that she showers.
I showed up to mom's at 9:00 this morning, right as she was about to start getting ready. She complained of me being in her room, concerned of my seeing her "naked" and a "plain Jane". It seemed as though she planned to shower, so I left the room to give her some privacy. After about 20 minutes, I decided to check in on her since I hadn't heard the shower going. I found mom halfway dressed with her head in the sink. Upon further inspection, I found that the shower stall had only a few drops of water directly under the faucet while the rest was dry. It didn't take long to figure out what mom means when she says it's a "severe shower day". I am guessing that "severe shower days" means she gets her whole body into the shower to wash off; the rest of the days it seems she must be washing her hair in the sink and perhaps rinsing her lower half in the shower. I don't know exactly how long this has been going on, but I think the dry shower stall mystery is solved :(
At our previous trips to UCLA, they always liked to point out mom's strength. At the top of the list was her hygiene and the fact that she was still able to take care of herself. Now that this is slipping, I wonder what is left.
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