I used to volunteer in the Alzheimer’s Care Unit of a retirement home. Each guest had their own special needs–there was no one-size fits all way of attending to those needs or mollifying the eruptions of confusion, sorrow, or anger that would often arise out of nowhere. One man liked to be sung too–old Americana tunes. … More Day 7 with Takkin
I awoke this morning to the pouring rain and a pit in my stomach. No. Tutors. Today. Which meant I had about 14 hours of one-on-one time with Takkin, nonstop. I decided, despite the rain, to head 2.5 hours down south to Charlottesville to visit my alma mater, UVA, and my friend Michael. That was … More Day 6 with Takkin
Welp, the dinner party is off. And Cry #1 of 5 has commenced. I had to cancel an hour beforehand because Takkin is a monster. I am sitting at my grandmother’s house shaking as I write these words because I just got two remote controls thrown at my head and was yelled at for 10 … More Day 5 with Takkin
I managed to get away for a few hours today to see some coworkers and then visit my 90 year old grandmother. She was sitting up in bed, her legs sticking out of her torso like toothpicks. I kissed her once on each cheek and sat down next to her so we could chat for … More Day 4 with Takkin
Time is an interesting thing. It goes fast and slow. It creeps up on you, and then recedes, slinks away into the shadows. Time is a flat circle. Nah, just playin’. But time sure is a son-of-a-bitch. For one thing, my time in Virginia feels never-ending. We spent almost the entire day out. Takkin didn’t … More Day 3 with Takkin
He doesn’t ever stop talking. An incessant stream of words come out of his mouth with hardly a breath in between. He talks to me, he calls random people (like my grandmother’s 90 year old friends), he says hello how are you have a good night to people on the street–even it it’s the middle of … More Day 2 with Takkin
I arrived at 8:30 this morning and was greeted by my dad and brother at the airport, which was somewhat shocking since my dad was supposed to be on a plane to Iran. His flight last night had gotten canceled. He’s leaving tonight, fingers crossed, since Takkin seems to be much worse around him and … More Day 1 with Takkin
