Lets embark on a new journey together and plan your day using our Daily Good Habit lifestyle chart. Take pictures of your favorite moments, log events, or relax and take in each moment as they come. It’s time to give your self a reason to start your day on a positive note. It starts by taking care of you first and changing the things you can change.

A Typical Day in Our House

I always start my day with a social habit, Brittany and I sit outside in the early morning sun and enjoy our favorite beverage. It never takes long before Feenie comes meowing at the door to join us. We put him on a leash and watch as he curiously checks out the yard before relaxing in the sun. Then the little family of squirrels begin to crawl under the fence searching for their peanuts. Brittany and I take turns throwing the peanuts and watching Feenie carefully. He enjoys watching them and rarely attempts to attack but squirrels can get a little too close at times.

After the excitement starts to calm down, Brittany and I usually engage in repetitive morning conversation. She always asks the same questions every morning. Is there a nurse coming today?, How much money do I have to spend today? What day is it today? How many pre rolls do I have? Once I answer all her questions we carry on to a new topic.

After the first hour of sitting outside with Brittany, I begin to question her on what we should do next. I casually walk her through the options verbally. In the past she refused to look at the list of options, explaining that she feels like I’m treating her as a disabled person.

Do you want to start with cleaning the house this morning.? I make the suggestion example; I do laundry and she cleans the kitchen. If the nurse is coming she will likely choose to clean because she likes to get her chores out of the way before the nurse arrives. On the days the nurse is not coming I usually offer to play scrabble, Yahtzee or darts, practice on her guitar, draw, or we go for a morning walk. This tends to help her build some good energy and remain positive.

Once we have accomplished the first task we take a little smoke break in the back yard and briefly chat on what to do next. She usually feels a little overwhelmed at this point and starts to show signs of shutting down. I try to focus on self care and suggest relaxing tasks that will keep her calm. Did you want to take a shower and straighten your hair? Do you want to take a long bath and read a book? Once again if the nurse is coming she will likely choose a long bath.

This brings us to a part of her day that is a routine activity. It’s usually close to 11:00 am once she completes her task. Now it is time to go up to her Uncle Kenny’s and play her favorite board game, Yahtzee or cards. If there’s time in between, we will usually sit out in the sun until he arrives.

On a good day when Brittany returns home from her uncles we will have a neighbor stop and we socialize for an hour. However if she comes home and the house is quiet you can almost certainly be ready for a change in her mood. This is when it can be a challenge to keep her motivated and positive. I remind her how excited little Kailani gets when she plays with her, then suggest something to make out of clay , sometimes I convince her to bake me something. She loves to share her creative talent with others and usually it’s just enough to keep her going for at least another hour.

Once the clock strikes three, it’s time to make dinner. I usually try to make healthy meals but Brittany often refuses to eat and makes raisin toast for supper. This can be very discouraging. If I can convince her to make dinner, she’s more likely to make chicken or stuffed potatoes, on a good day she makes a great stir fry. Cooking is a great pass time. When she’s not in the mood to cook, she will call a friend or her son and chat until dinner is ready. The only time I can get her to watch a little tv is during dinner.

At 5:00 Brittany is ready for another visit with her uncle to play some games. That’s when we know the day is almost done. Once she returns home we finish off the night in the back yard and discuss how our day went and the possibilities for tomorrow.

I hope you enjoyed a little sample of how we spend our days and encourage you to try our lifestyle chart if you struggle to get through your day.