Thanksgiving

I feel like writing something completely different this week. This is the week of the Thanksgiving holiday, time to be thankful. Of course I am thankful for all the usual things, my husband, my daughter, my sister, as well as all the rest of my family, including my step-family who are to me just family, no "step" about it! I am thankful for the roof over my head, my comfortable bed, that my house is warm and dry and that we never go hungry. I often went hungry as a child, so that one is much appreciated.

Sometimes, though, it is the unexpected things, the kindnesses of people I did not know well or the beauty I had never seen before that day. I'll start with that one. Yesterday, my husband was driving us to our local hardware store. The day was chilly, in the low 40's, but the sun was shining brightly and the sky was as blue as it gets. Add to that, the beauty of a couple white puffy clouds and some white intersecting jet contrails, it was just glorious.

When we arrived at the store, it was much more crowded than I like. If you have read previous blogs, you know that I, and most others with FTD, do not deal well with crowds. Most of the employees (or as they advertise, the helpful hardware folks) in this store are very knowledgeable and helpful. This day, however, we were assisted by a young man who knew a whole lot less about what we were looking for than I did. I think he was a relatively new employee. Between the crowd and the frustration of him, I was ready to leave. Just then, in walks Carla, my favorite person there. Carla knows everything! Plus, she picked up, probably a year or so ago, that something was different with me and asked my husband the next time he went in alone. After asking for my permission, he explained my FTD to her. She was always patient and helpful, but now when she sees me, she gets a beautiful smile and greets me, steers me to less crowded areas and calmly figures out just what I need. Such a patient and loving soul.

It is things like this that make me thankful from day to day. In the same vein, this past Friday, my sister took me out for the afternoon. First stop was our local CVS drugstore. Once I was at the register, I was confusing myself and getting agitated. I looked at the clerk and said "I'm sure you remember I have a rare dementia."  She assured me it was quite okay, to take my time and not worry about it. I said I figured that it was okay since no one was behind us in line. Her response was that it didn't matter who was behind me in line, I should always take the time to do the transaction to  prevent getting agitated and that she could always call someone else up to open another register.

Second stop was again another store. When I made it up to the register that time, I searched and searched and could not find my credit cards and of course started to panic. I do not usually carry much cash because it confuses me, but fortunately that day I had some. I dug our the $23 that I had, bummed five from my sister and paid in cash. Of course, then, I found my credit cards right where they belong in a pocket of my purse. He, just like the woman at the drug store, reassured me to stop worrying that I was the customer he was dealing with and it would take as long as it took to complete the purchase while keeping me comfortable.

Third stop, the craft store. My sister was shopping in the fabric department and low and behold, the only person working the department is someone who assisted me a couple years before. From what I was buying at that time, she realized that I must crochet nylon scrubbies and told me how much she loves them. I offered to bring some in for her, that I would not take money, but she should pay it forward sometime or put a little extra in the offering plate at her church. We recognized each other and she again thanked me. Even though I find it difficult to make them anymore, I did have a basket full of them at home and made the same offer again. It just made me feel good to see her again and brighten her day a little.

Fourth and final stop, a late lunch. Our server was looking a little harried and I asked if they had been busy and he said it had been very hectic and lots of grumpy customers. I told him he was lucky then because now he had our two smiling faces to cheer him up. We ended up having a really good time with him and he was ever so very friendly and helpful. We mentioned that we would be coming back for dinner for my sister's birthday with the whole family. He pulled out his phone and made a note to request to work the evening shift that day instead of the usual day shift so that he could serve us again, so I guess he had as much fun as we did.

So this week of Thanksgiving, these are the kind of things I will focus on. These are the kind of things that make this disease bearable, every time I experience what I call "random acts of kindness."