Dementia + Divorce = devastating reboot

Curious if this old format still works, here's a try. My wife of 30 years has decided she wants a divorce despite my dementia, retirement and end of life issues so after a long long time, it is soon to be over and as I had predicted years ago, I will be homeless and carless. At least until I turn the settlement into a reboot life. Enter my current dream; Prius Living

After caring for my mom for 6 months in Oklahoma and living with my parents, then two different friends, I had a good idea of what was essential for me in a living situation and what I could live without. So when finalizing the divorce (still eluding me) and dealing with COVID19 lockdown, I returned to Memphis to packup what is mine. Today I am beginning to pack up what is sentimental and priceless to me and storing it. What is not sentimental or priceless I will either sell or give away. I hope to find a 2017 Prius V and begin to take a long road trip to national parks, state parks, hiking and visiting friends in North America.

I have joined a few forums and such for inspiration, but it really boils down to what each person who chooses this reboot needs and we all have different needs. What is important to me is reliability, climate control and space for my dog (and cat?) so I am swapping my instant tent for an SUV tent, keeping the coleman stove and adding in a few key items. Photos coming soon. My adult sons will be helping me organize the trip, tracking my location and assisting with budgeting. I am making this move because my monthly income is $1010 after paying my health insurance. Finding affordable ($500) rent in this city in a walkable and safe neighborhood is hard. I had wanted to do a grand american retirement national park trip for a long time, but I lost my motivation, my spark and my courage when I thought of being alone, demented and driving. I don't think I can do it forever, but I will try it for several months and see what happens.

Losing a little more from 2012

this sat as a draft for 7 years and I just stumbled on it. I am pleased to see that despite the devastating experiences and losses I was still seeing the bright side, that there was one person who was there for me and held on. Thanks Michelle Homer <3 .="" nbsp="" p="">
I recently rewarded myself for a pretty challenging year by taking a once-in-twenty-year vacation without spouse or children to Las Vegas with the best group of softball playing women ever. I started an extra medication *just* for that trip, and ended up having a drug reaction the entire trip and zero insight. I seem to have lost control, lost friends and lost dignity. Fortunately I didn't gamble and lose money!
As my Alzheimer's eats a little more of me and my seizures don't help, I am losing more control of my life. It's been suggested that I can no longer travel without someone to basically babysit me. There's a blow to any self-esteem I was hanging onto, but it is also good that I have friends and family who will step up, tell the truth and pull in my options when I can't reliably make good decisions.

Reason with a hurricane?

Some beach time, Spring style

Our family, minus Max, went to our favorite beach for spring break. The weather was warmer and sunnier than predicted, which was great except I packed for cooler weather. The water was and always is too cold to swim in March, but some brave souls do. We think they are people who don't get to come to the beach as often as we do. We also saw and heard at least one mated pair of Osprey. We had a regular cocktail hour complete with hor d'oeuvres. Often we would hear and see the Osprey near sunset. They are amazing birds. I was fascinated about them and dreamed of them, thought of them and looked for them long after we returned home. We enjoyed the Blue Angels flying over in practice, but it was hard to get photos. We comforted ourselves in the fact that we have decades of Blue Angels photos. William spent time with friends, as did we. During a card game one night our cat, Zeus, decided to help us play. We've had this motorhome about a year and the dogs and cats love the dash. It's huge and flat and they can view their domain from there.

Lichterman Scarecrow Contest

Please meet Pretty in Pink. She is the Friend's of the Pink Palace's entry in the scarecrow contest this year. Ginger made her plywood frame and I found all the clothes at Goodwill including the PINK boots (with kitten heels.) She'll be next to the pavillion at Lichterman Nature Center and she's hosting Stomp in the Swamp September 12th. Please join us as we kick off Craft's Fair with some great auction items at bargain prices, food by Germantown Commisary and Ginger and I will be your beverage servers. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. Be there!

Family fishing trip to Little Red River

We took one last family trip before both boys go to school; Max to CBU for college and William to MCHS for HS. Trout fishing on the Little Red was good, though we never caught our daily limit. Did best the last day! Trout every day though and enjoyed time together as a family, as always. Traveling increases my work load and I became increasinly exhausted. I do all the cooking, cleaning, dog walking (at home they have a dog door) in addition to whatever events we are doing on our trip. The stairs down to the fishing dock and the path to the water eventually stopped me in my tracks by about 10 a.m. the last day. I climbed out of the kayak and knew I couldn't lug it up to the RV. Got Max to do it for me. Packed up and on the road. Vista did great! The kittens (now leggy young cats 5 months old) continue to be wonderful travelers!

Newly(re)weds!

Twenty years, 2 months and 2 weeks ago we had a wedding, reception and cake. Now we are legally married (in D.C. and a few other US states). Check out the incredible knitted bouquet and boutonniere! Delivered in the nick of time.