Cleaning and Caretaking

January 8, 2024

I woke at 3:30 a.m. I felt wide awake and rested. I listened to a guided relaxation meditation for an hour and then wrote my blog until 5:30 a.m. When I finished I prayed my thanksgivings and gratitudes:

  • I am grateful for this day. Thank you!
  • I am grateful Chance has a good home. Thank you!
  • I am grateful for friends. Thank you! 
  • I am grateful for breath. Thank you! 

I was missing Chance, he always gave me lots of cuddles in the mornings. I felt happy he was at a good loving home but I still missed him. We had spent a lot of time together training the past few weeks and I had fallen in love with him. He has so much love to give. 

I went in the house, greeted Christopher, did my morning routine and headed to town. I cleaned 3 houses. The first house I cleaned, I listened to a documentary called All is Self on YouTube. Little Bit was with me and is allowed to go in this house. He ate so much of their dogs food that he looked like he would burst. I had forgotten to put the food up out of his reach. At home he gets homemade dog food and he likes to sneak in “junk” food whenever he can, just like a kid 😂. Needless to say he had horrible smelling gas the rest of the day. 

At my third house, my clients were home. The husband had quit smoking cigarettes since I was last there. He was telling me that every time he craved a cigarette, he would do something to keep busy to keep his mind off of it. I could tell….there were tops of dressers cleared off, shelves organized, furniture rearranged. It looked like he had been keeping very busy. I encouraged him to stay strong and the craving would eventually pass. He said physically he was already starting to feel better and he had no plans to start smoking again. 

When I had finished cleaning my houses, I went to spend a couple of hours caring for Ms. M. Her husband wanted me to get her to shower but I was sure I could get her to do it but I had no such luck. She kept saying she would do it tomorrow. I explained how important it was to stay clean, we talked about whether she would rather take a bath (she wouldn’t), we talked about what she likes about taking a shower. She adamantly refused to take a shower. I googled ways to get dementia patients in the shower. Finally, I prayed for guidance and wisdom and waited for the answer. In the meantime, I cleaned out the refrigerator, threw out all the bad food and organized it. It looked brand new when I finished. Ms. M and I went for a walk around the block, which was my favorite part. We looked at the plants and houses. Ms. M kept commenting that the trees were all dead, I assured her that they were alive and had lost their leaves for winter and they would re grow their leaves in the spring. She looked doubtful about that. When we got back to the house, I tidied up the bathrooms and we played fetch with Little Bit. He is so funny, we laughed and laughed at his silliness. When it was time to leave Ms. M’s husband came home and I gave a report on my failed attempts to get her in the shower. He said they’ve been unable to convince her to shower as well. We will come up with some way to get her in there. I have no doubt that my prayer to be shown the way will be answered. 

When I arrived at home, Christopher had supper ready. I ate a big salad and we all shared what we are grateful for. Then I called Delta airlines and added Little Bit to my flight to Utah next week. I am going to see my boys and grandkids for 5 days and I am looking forward to it. I wasn’t going to take Little Bit or Angel but I decided Little Bit could go with me and if it would have been possible I would have added Angel on but there were no seats left. When I got off the phone, I took a quick bath with Angel and we got ready for bed. We all met up in the banana hut and I noticed Chances bed was gone. I didn’t ask what had happened to it. Angel probably got it out for her dog LacyJane to lay on. I was missing Chance again but his new owners messaged me throughout the day telling me how good he is doing and how much they love him. I felt really happy about that. I read 3 chapters from Hank the Cowdog book 7. I love those books, they are great fun. We said our good nights and Christopher went in the house. Angel slept on the trundle bed next to me and we fell asleep around 8 p.m. listening to a children’s sleep meditation story. 

Thank you for reading my blog and being a part of my life. I dearly appreciate you. 

Love,

Victoria 

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