Lizard Chapter 5: THERE HE IS AGAIN!

I was really surprised one day when I saw him clinging to the screen door on the back patio. A lot of time had passed because I had grown from a puppy into a dog and I was twice as big as I was last time I saw him. I didn't need to ask myself if it was him.  It was him.  He had a presence that no other lizard possessed.  He was clinging to the screen only because he wanted me to know that he was there.  He moved around until I saw him and then he just sat there and talked to me.  

He told me very calmly of the adventures he had experienced in the natural habitat that surrounded our house.  He told me how he traveled several miles into the national forest but that every once in awhile he would think of us and know that he had to come back to see us.  

He told me to keep special watch over Kate in the days ahead and to always be sure to come into the house when the coyotes would come near the house.  Of course I knew to do that, but it was endearing that he was so protective of us.  I told him I appreciated him and it was not long after that he was gone again.  

Lizard Chapter 4: WONDERING WHERE HE WENT

Days passed -- maybe even years. Every once in awhile I'd think of him.  Even though we didn't really play together when he visited, I liked him a lot. I wondered where he went when he wasn't around.

I felt like I knew him from somewhere, some time a long long time ago. I know it sounds strange but he felt like my father, my brother, my son, my friend, he felt like everything all wrapped up into one. 

I think Kate liked him a lot too, even though we really never talked about him.  

Lizard Chapter 3: HE COMES BACK A THIRD TIME

He was Over Her Head

The next time we saw Lizard he showed up on the front porch of our house and he just sat there a little higher than Kate's head.  We came up the steps one day and there he was.  He just sat and looked at us and we stood and looked at him.  "Nice to see you again." said Kate.  He just blinked.  He was trying to tell me something, I wasn't sure what.  It was something important.  

Lizard

He stayed there for a few days.  He stayed there until the day we took Grady to the vet and came back to the house without her.  I don't remember seeing him when we came home, but maybe he was there. Kate and I were pretty upset about what had happened and maybe we just walked by him and never saw him.  

Godspeed Grady

So Focused on the Positive, I Didn't See The Rest

I visited a client in her Senior Living Community last week. As we were strolling down the hallway, a woman was pushing herself in her wheelchair, accompanied by her charming elderly boyfriend. 

We greeted the woman and my client introduced me. The woman smiled and I was very taken by her natural beauty. Her bright smile. Her stylish red outfit. Just enough makeup to highlight her blue eyes and warm grey hair. Her grace in pushing her wheelchair on the plush carpet. After they passed by, my client gave me an earful. Her boyfriend lives in their home and she lives here now.... She never figured out how to return home without her legs."

I had never noticed that she was missing her legs. Taken above the knee, both sides. Me, the geriatric assessor. Me the great observer.

This woman was so elegant and gracious, I never noticed anything about her that wasn't elegant and gracious. I was too busy looking at her beautiful smile.

It's all in the grace.

photo from www.TheOsborn.org
Premier Senior Living in Westchester County

Thank you "Rockers In Recovery" for this joke!

Understanding Memory Loss

Learn the difference between mild forgetfulness and more serious memory problems in this 24-page booklet. Also discussed are various causes of memory problems and how to get help for serious memory loss.  Download your Free Booklet from the National Institute on Aging by clicking here.

You can also review one of our previous posts which discusses forgetfulness vs. memory loss.

Lizard Chapter 2: HE COMES BACK A SECOND TIME

Every once in awhile I would think I saw Lizard over at our house around the corner from Joanne's, but then sometimes I would think maybe it wasn't him.  Lots of lizards look the same.  There was one that kind of looked like him and he would come hang out and we would play a little bit.  I think he was a different lizard though because Mr. Lizard was more serious than that.  I don't think Mr. Lizard was the kind of lizard that wanted to play and be chased and jump around like most lizards do.