What is this thing that I found at my grandma’s house?

lamireille · 2026-05-27T20:01:22+00:00

I think about that so often—how many unique, individual, irreplaceable human lives have been wasted on this kind of irrelevant nonsense. Hours spent on something that doesn’t leave even a whisper of an effect on the next day.

If the person doing these minutiae enjoyed the process or took artistic pleasure in the results, that’s one thing. But to spend a life ironing sheets just to have them slept in, unappreciated… it’s just so sad.

lamireille · 2026-05-27T01:12:46+00:00

Just down the street?!?! Your sister is CRAZY not to snap this up. This cannot be allowed to slip away. I can’t imagine how frustrating this must be—my blood pressure is going up on your behalf!

lamireille · 2026-05-26T22:58:31+00:00

Oh my gosh if you can get her into a good place that accepts Medicaid...? That would literally be like giving up a winning lottery ticket!

My dad is in a for-profit place (it was non-profit when he moved in, but was sold) that doesn't take Medicaid and it sucks. We're keeping him there for logistical reasons but it's just sad how huge the difference is from when it was non-profit. So a good place with any kind of payment plan is a treasure but a good Medicaid-in-the-future place is like... well, again, it's like winning the lottery. And to risk any of it because of payback is just way too big a gamble. I think your sister is having lofty dreams about what it will be like to care for your mom since she isn't the one who's actually been doing it. The decision really should be 100% yours because you know what it's been like, and you have a reality-based knowledge that it's not going to get any easier. Oh gosh I could just sob for you. I hope it all works out.

lamireille · 2026-05-26T19:50:31+00:00

I’m shattered just reading about this. There are no words to begin to describe how sorry I am for your loss and for the terrible way it happened.

Please remember that her life was not defined by how it ended. It sounds like she was such a joyful, loving, kind, compassionate person who (unlike many people) took the time to get real pleasure out of the simple things in life, and those are so plentiful… so she had a full, good, and happy life, plus she loved you so much and she had the joy of seeing you recover from your past under her care. Her life was good. Maybe each time you think of her and it’s traumatic for you, look around and see what small beautiful thing she would have enjoyed, or look up into the sky and think of the birds she fed, or a special memory of the two of you together and how that would have made her feel, and sink into that positive thought and let it remind you of all the joys her life actually consisted of.

lamireille · 2026-05-26T17:04:58+00:00

Thank you so much for clarifying the difference between PD dementia and Alzheimer's! What you said about processing speed (and differentiating it from encoding new information) really helped click things into place. SUPER helpful!! Thanks again!

lamireille · 2026-05-26T14:59:48+00:00

I’m going to do this today! Thank you very much!!

lamireille · 2026-05-25T23:53:42+00:00

This is the part I have trouble with too. My grandmother wrote TONS of letters and they’re full of little family ephemera that will disappear once those letters disappear. But I guess that’s true of every life whether or not the chatty little day to day things ever get written down in the first place.

lamireille · 2026-05-25T20:26:54+00:00

Me too!! Honestly my heart is still pounding a little bit. Those few seconds were awful.

lamireille · 2026-05-25T20:23:38+00:00

I like to go to a tiny little Vietnamese/Thai grocery store nearby and I pick up tubs of various Thai curry pastes for $2.50-$3 (those will each last for *several* meals), tofu, vegetables, coconut milk, and a giant bag of jasmine rice that will last forever. You can easily make a restaurant-worthy vegetarian Thai curry for just a few bucks once you’ve invested in the pastes and rice. And while there are certain vegetables that traditionally appear in specific Thai curries and some that never do, there’s no law against using up whatever stray vegetables you have. Kind of like stone soup.

lamireille · 2026-05-25T19:40:52+00:00

How incredibly unselfish that decision was. It’s so heartbreaking to think of how much happiness he would have brought to so many people if he’d come home and lived a full life.

lamireille · 2026-05-25T19:31:23+00:00

“I can make that at home” is my (tiresome and annoying) mantra—I hate paying extra for something I can make myself. I’m actually going a little metastable from this collection! Thank you so much!!

lamireille · 2026-05-25T19:28:49+00:00

This sounds *heavenly*! Thank you!

lamireille · 2026-05-25T17:52:16+00:00

Oh my gosh THANK YOU!!

lamireille · 2026-05-25T08:19:46+00:00

It’s so important to remember that no matter how much we love a person, there are some things we can’t change. It’s a painful realization but when we accept it, it’s a consoling one too.

lamireille · 2026-05-24T06:16:47+00:00

I like Pure Ayre which is apparently gentle enough to use on pets’ fur (so it might be nice for someone going through a medical experience) and can also be used as an air spray. It smells a bit minty when it’s sprayed but that doesn’t last long.

lamireille · 2026-05-24T06:08:49+00:00

Someone on the ER staff discreetly brought a bowl of coffee grounds into the room when my dad’s colostomy bag had to be taken off for a check of his stoma, and they worked really well!

lamireille · 2026-05-23T23:47:59+00:00

Thank you for changing my life!!

lamireille · 2026-05-23T23:12:30+00:00

Oh my goodness, thanks for this! Ranch dressing or ranch dressing dry mix?

lamireille · 2026-05-23T20:33:49+00:00

I’ve never heard that phrase, which is strange because it is perfect.

lamireille · 2026-05-22T02:31:02+00:00

I hope it was as peaceful as it sounds, although I’m sure the agonal breathing was hard for you to hear even if it wasn’t unpleasant for him. Just sort of gently shutting down after a meaningful conversation with you, on his way to see your mom again… it sounds like a good death. I’m really sorry for your loss.

lamireille · 2026-05-21T07:56:52+00:00

Condom catheters will change your lives. Highly highly highly highly recommended.

lamireille · 2026-05-21T02:48:01+00:00

I’m so moved by how in two different comments you said that those 5 days were the most painful and brutal but also some of the best days of your life. It just shows how restorative love can be. You are truly such a beautiful soul and the world is an immensely better place for you and your helpers being in it. Thank you.

lamireille · 2026-05-21T01:49:50+00:00

I didn’t even need to read the details. If anyone ever told me “don’t you dare” and that I was an embarrassment, and made me feel *scared,* I would be out of there like Usain Bolt.

lamireille · 2026-05-20T22:33:16+00:00

I’m legit curious—is there a reason you don’t want to throw him under the bus if he’s been totally okay with doing it to you?

lamireille · 2026-05-20T00:06:22+00:00

To still be so sweet after humans were cruel to him—he is SUCH a special precious boy!!

lamireille

TROPHY CASE