The Pedicure

I'm finding out slowly that having a loved one with Alzheimer's is like raising a child in reverse. Gradually they forget to take care of the simplest things...

I gave Mom a pedicure the other day and I still don't think I'm over it, although my husband has let me touch him again, with the same hands...If you knew me very well, you'd know that a pedicure would normally be something completely out of my realm. And here I found myself giving my Mother one. But....I got some new products recently that I really love and I wanted to really put them to the test. Mom's feet and legs get so dry. I had her soak her feet for a good while and then rubbed her feet and legs down with a dead sea salt scrub and a few of the other products...then clipped her toe nails. That had to be the worst. I don't know when she'd done it last, but it now dawned on me why she clicked when she walked across the floor. I think she went down half a shoe size when I was done.

If someone told me a year ago I would be clipping her toenails, I think I would have said I'd rather pull out my hair........one strand at a time.........slowly. But I was doing it and I even found it relatively painless. Although she didn't share the same feeling when I nipped her toe. (ouch!) Other than that, she loved the whole thing. And the stuff really helped her dry legs. And I guess its a good thing I found it relatively painless, because it'll probably be a regular job from now on.