Saga Nine

Ours on Left and Sally and Jake's on Right

We used to own a popup camper, but my husband sold it a year and a half ago. I was sad about giving it up, but accepted this as part of life.

Our friends Sally and Jake go camping. They upgraded from their popup camper and recently sold us their old popup camper on the left. They sold it to us verrrrrry inexpensively, which meant that we would put new tires on it and have it looked over for repair and safety. Repair could have meant new canvas, but I devised a plan so we didn't have to have new canvas--combination of my sewing and using fabric adhesive.

Was this purchase a risk? While deciding on this purchase, I realized worse case it could sit in our backyard on our cement area.  I called Dolores about having this much fun while our husbands have Alzheimer's and she encouraged us to go for it while we can. Also, Jake knows how to operate the popup since he once owned it. We will go camping with them at first.

DH, proud of this driving skills,  carefully drove the popup to a place that would work on it. I also worked on the canvas there--my only experience ever working where mechanics work. Proud of my work I went home to  get DH to bring him to see how well I thought I was doing repairing the canvas. When he got there,  DH got mad at me, using a lot of swear words and saying why didn't we just have professionals do the job. I stayed calm and explained we really couldn't afford that expense. That night he forgot that he had been so mad at me. This is the for better and for worse part of marriage and because my husband has mixed dementias this behavior is to be expected, especially at sundown time which it had been during his outburst.

We have been busy outfitting the popup--new camping chairs, what will go in each drawer, etc. We were at Camping World and DH's back hurt him and he said he was going to go to our car. I said OK and pointed him in the direction of the car.  Unfortunately he got lost and I had left my cell phone in the car. When I made the purchases, I went to the car. No husband. Retrieving my cell phone I called his cell and he was mad at me--sundown time. Life is so frustrating for him at times. We met at the entrance to Camping World and then walked to the car. Several hours later he could not recall his getting lost.

Things turn out to be the spouse's fault when the other has Alzheimer's. I realized that my husband needs me with him at all times if he is not at home. (He still is happy to stay home watching movies by himself while I work part-time or do other errands. Because of that crash in December there is no extra car now for him to drive while I am gone.)

Time doesn't make sense to my husband. He thinks the shop has had our new-to-us camper for a long time whereas it has hardly been a week. He takes notes about each day on a notepad he keeps on the coffee table with all his DVDs. Even so his notes don't always make sense to him.

Hopefully we will have opportunities beginning next month to enjoy camping adventures before his health declines.  And then Jake and DH can enjoy telling each other the same stories over and over that each forgets. Sally and I will smile when they do and also enjoy having our own conversations.

Thank you, LORD, for the camper
and for our friends!