tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post3697437021500396407..comments2023-10-31T12:12:35.050-05:00Comments on The Last Leaf On This Branch: Madness Monday - It's a Mad and Fearless Birthday!!Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-19719927474652165232021-01-19T15:46:28.882-06:002021-01-19T15:46:28.882-06:00Your Aunt Lou was best friends with my mother, who...Your Aunt Lou was best friends with my mother, whom was also a nurse. They worked together in Springfield Illinois. I also knew Soibhan and Danny Cosgrove. They would come visit Lou in Springfield Il over several summers and we would go to the State fair together. great memories!Cherie Long Crafthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610631063571640600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-69431820343669364042013-07-09T09:29:15.529-05:002013-07-09T09:29:15.529-05:00I have had several relatives to whom such personal...I have had several relatives to whom such personality changes have happened. Although It upsets everybody on one level, I agree that the best response is with low-key humor. It's just what is, at that moment, and doesn't change who these people were in the past. Some brain cells are "breaking down," and those cells are in charge at the moment.<br /><br />One of my aunts in assisted living used to clean everything in her apartment obsessively. She'd steal cleaning powders etc. from the official cleaning cart that rolled through the halls and hoard the supplies. We were concerned but also, frankly, it was amusing. She also regularly left the water running so that her sink overflowed more than once and water leaked into the apartment below. Her habits gave everyone something to talk about -- with both respect and humor.<br /><br />Paranoia can go with Alzheimers, I think. One beloved cousin in his 80s, when I arrived at his home in the South one summer, looked at me aslant and demanded, "Where have YOU been?" I replied with equanimity, "I've been putting these pictures of you into our family memoir," and showed him pictures of himself in his football days. He softened up.<br /><br />You are right that "mental illness," in all of its many so-called forms, is still stigmatized. People are just afraid. Maybe someday they'll get a grip. Just as we are unafraid of children who are "learning the ropes" of life, we can be unafraid of elders who are "dropping the ball" or "losing a step." It's easier to relax about it, and it's kinder.<br /><br />Your Aunt Lou sounds like a live wire who led an exciting life! Good for her. "Speak your mind. Whole or not." I love that.Mariannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09543003593158696611noreply@blogger.com