Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Here's to Family... Here's to 2015

It's New Years Eve and Mama would always say to me "the way you spend New Years Eve is the way you'll spend the rest of the year." Year after year she'd always say the same thing. I'm not sure where the saying came from or whether it was just her belief. Maybe it was just some of that Italian Catholic guilt philosophy. I think it was really an excuse to have the family together... nevertheless I bought it. 

And speaking of family, we'd like to thank you all for being a part of our family in 2014 following our story. It was Mama's wish for us to continue to tell her story and as we develop our script "Some Of These Daze" it looks like 2015 could be the year for Mama's wish to come true! 

Happiness and love to all who have supported us and to all the Advocates and Caregivers out there who are truly selfless. It's our belief that love, music and humor can help get us all through it. Here's to 2015!


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Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Italiano Christmas Eve with Mama

Mama loved the Holidays... any Holiday, but especially Christmas. For her it was all about family and of course food. On Christmas Eve we followed the Italian tradition of the Feast of the seven fishes. None of my Aunts really knew whether it was suppose to be seven, nine or thirteen fishes, all I knew was that we had a lot of fish. I didn't really like to eat fish back then so it didn't matter to me. All I cared about on Christmas Eve was learning about the cure for Malocchio



Malocchio is the evil eye in Italian superstition and you can only learn how to get rid of it on Christmas Eve by your Mother, Aunt or Grandmother. Mama couldn't be bothered with it and told me to ask one of her sisters as she continued to cook. I tried to find out about Malocchio as a young teenager, but it was Christmas time and my attention span was even shorter than it is now. I'd forget to ask but would remember on Christmas Day (which of course was a day late so I had to wait another year). Finally on one Christmas Eve I remembered to ask my oldest Aunt who lived with us in our tiny apartment, she was like a grandmother to me. She taught me the special prayers to say with a plate of water and oil and then the person could be cured. Amen, I finally learned the secret... but as time went by I forgot it!


A few years ago when Mama was over for dinner on Christmas Eve, I bought her a necklace with the Italian horn (which is suppose to protect you from the evil eye). I asked her if she remembered when I'd always ask about Malocchio and she said that it was all a bunch of crap, so let's just eat. That was my Mama! Her love for food was the same as always as she continued to eat her calamari and Spaghetti aglio e olio. Some things never change.


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Saturday, December 6, 2014

Elephants Never Forget...

Elephants never forget, but people do. Like Mama, some people get Alzheimer's

I went back to school a few years ago and got two degrees in Yoga. When you graduate and become certified, the instructors and Swamis assign you a spiritual name. A name carefully selected for you based on their understanding of your overall persona. Most students use it when they start teaching. The name given to me was Vinayaka and I loved it!

I was very attached to my chosen name. Vinayaka is a man with an elephants head and he symbolizes overcoming obstacles and was the protector of his mother. How perfect - that was my life story! Overcoming obstacles was my middle name. I had obstacles every day when I was a caregiver for Mama. Vinayaka is also another name for Ganesh, a sacred deity. Many people would say I was a saint when I was a caregiver, but I just did what I had to do. I learned to overcome many obstacles and was the protector of Mama up until the very end. Maybe it was all something that was just meant to be. Cosmic, Kharmic... call it what you want.


(If you can't view the video above, click on the link: Chanting OM with Mama)

During our nightly exercise routine I'd often add some Yoga exercises into them. It was like when a parent sneaks a little veggie into the meal. Sometimes I'd add three part breathing, sometimes gentle basic poses and other times we'd chant the Yogic "OM" mantra. Mama always got a kick out of chanting because she loved to sing. She preferred show tunes, but who wouldn't? She was a trooper and in this short video you can hear Mama chanting and having a hell of a time, we both couldn't stop laughing. Laughter is the one thing that always helped us overcome our obstacles and that's what this "elephant" will never forget.

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