Isolation

"To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts," Thoreau.

Choosing isolation, as Thoreau is reported to have done, is different from the isolation that seems inherent with dementia. There is a collapsing inward that happens to the person with dementia; a narrowing of their interests, their awareness, that restricts everything down to their own needs, their own world. Then there is the isolation from the world. I have been surprised both by those people who make the effort to include and support us, and by those who don't. People one would think would be kind and supportive to either the care receiver or care giver aren't; and conversely there are those one might least expect to be kind and inclusive who are. One of those persons is someone in the extended family who is planning a hunting trip that not only includes Dwane but seems to be a gesture of helping Dwane complete his bucket list. How extraordinary! He is looking forward to it, and I get a few days reprieve. I am so grateful for the kindness of this person.