Food Hide-and-seek

I have become an expert at food hide-and-seek lately. With Thanksgiving last week and Dean's birthday celebration this past weekend, there are sweet treats hidden all over my house. I have to hide them from Dean, and I'm sure he's been hiding them from me so I don't hide them from him.

As a matter of fact, there is a can of mixed nuts in such a good hiding place that neither of us will find them for quite awhile. Dean, because he doesn't remember that he has them, and me, because I can't remember where I put them. They must be in a very secure location. Either that, or Dean has found them and finished them off. Like he did with the box of chocolate-covered cherries the other day.

This impulsivity or lack of self-control is a typical symptom of someone who is brain-injured or has dementia. It has resulted in some weight gain for Dean lately, as you might imagine. I even threatened to send him to a "fat farm" today, when he was complaining about my tight restraints on the food pantry. But probably we'll just end up readjusting his medicines at some point.

Do I complain about God's restraints sometimes too? I'm sure I do. It seems like He's hiding all the good things in my life in very secure locations, and leaving me without any of the luxuries that make life sweet. I must stop complaining and remember that God is doing it all for my best eternal interest. He's a caregiver I can really trust.

Sweet Dreams

Yesterday afternoon Dean was asking me repeatedly for something sweet to eat. I had nothing in the house for his sweet tooth, but was almost glad I didn't, because the other day we found a bag of Tootsie Roll pops hidden in his closet and he proceeded to finish them off in a couple of days.

I did remember and gave him a "stashed" Hershey candy bar that our daughter gave to me last time I babysat for them though. Was keeping it for one of his emergency "gotta-have-it" meltdowns. It seemed to satisfy him, at least for a couple of hours.

Then Dean pops his head in the door of my room while I was writing my blog in the evening and offers me a big glazed donut. Evidently while he was taking out the garbage, our neighbor came out and gave him a box of six bakery donuts. So I assumed that Dean would have one and so would I.

Later I went out to the kitchen and all but one of the donuts were gone from the box! I was a bit awestruck that he wasn't reeling from a stomachache or about to pass out from so much sugar in his bloodstream, but he seemed to be handling the sugar onslaught quite well, on top of all his medications.

So I just smiled and said the good Lord must have heard his prayer for something sweet to eat. Then Dean gave me a big smile too, as he ambled back to bed for some very sweet dreams, I am sure.

Shoofly Pie

Tonight I made a shoofly pie. I had heard of them in books, but had no idea what they would taste like. The name came from the fact that the pie was so sweet that flies would have to be shooed away from them while they were out cooling. The main ingredient of molasses was offset by the zest and juice of two lemons in the Amish recipe I used, so I think it came out about right in the sweetness category.

Isn't this like one's personality? Sweet communication is, of course, to be desired, but we do need a balance of firm resolve and serious contemplation. When Jesus is an ingredient in our personality recipe, we will attract people, just like my pie would attract flies...if I hadn't slapped mine in a pie container! Not taking any chances!!! Now I just have to figure out a way to shoo people away from it. My husband has already been in the kitchen asking for a second piece and the night isn't over. My daughter's family is coming over with some homemade lemon sherbet to go with it. Yummmmm...