Triple Chocolate Cake

    Though Thanksgiving used to be mostly about giving thanks, a majority of it is now about the food. Some people do still offer thanks, but many equate the holiday to a huge amount of food. This holiday originated in the United States, back in the time of the Pilgrims and Native Americans. To this day it continues to be celebrated in a variety of ways, such as parades, family gatherings, football games, and tables full of food.

    Every year my family gets together to celebrate this holiday. My immediate family and my extended family are close, so we all like to take the chance to get together. Though there is a large amount of people, we all manage to fit in one house. We watch the parade in the morning while preparing for the festivities. Later there is a large dinner, conversation, and games to play.

    During the games after dinner, people continue to return to the food tables, even though they are full. There is always a large variety of things to eat. Usually there is turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing, green bean casserole, and so on. For dessert, there is pumpkin pie, apple pie, triple chocolate cake, fudge, and anything else we might want. People may be full, but they keep going back for more. At the end of the evening, we say goodbyes and sometimes send leftovers home with various family members.

    Though some people think that this holiday is "stupid," it is one of my favorites. While it does seem to be mostly about food, many people look forward to a good reason to "pig out." One of the things I look forward to the most, besides getting days off from school, is getting to see my family. This year will be very different from others because my grandma passed on so it will be celebrated at my house, and also because many people from my family have moved away. Even though they will not be there, I know my grandpa will say a prayer for them and they will be missed.

(The chocolate cake is next to the last paragraph because my grandma is mentioned, and she always made triple chocolate cake just for me.)

This is just a short little clip from the parade last year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlG1PtxyQiE&feature=related

This Isn't My House!

    Have you ever heard someone say or joke around about an elderly person having Alzheimer's? They may not have even known what it meant. Some people think all elderly people have it just because they can't remember things as easily as they used to, but many of us have the same problem. So do we all have the disease? Alzheimer's  disease is actually the most common form of senile dementia. It is most commonly seen among the elderly and there are many symptoms and causes.

    Dementia is basically the deterioration of cognitive processes. Symptoms include, but are not limited to: memory loss, disorientation of time and place, altered personality, impaired attention, and decline in the ability to think. There are many possible causes for this condition. Causes vary from strokes and tumors to low vitamin B12 or fluid buildup in the brain. There aren't really any tests to see if you have it, like testing for pneumonia. Some cases may be treated or cured by fixing the problem or taking medicine. However, other cases will progressively grow worse. The only thing you can do for those cases are make them comfortable and take good care of them. Eventually they might not even be able to care for themselves, recognize loved ones, or know where they are. It is important to keep them safe, active, entertained, and reminded of necessary activities.

    Though I plan to go into nursing, I don't plan to take care of elderly patients with dementia. This topic relates to my current career, which is why I chose it. I help take care of an elderly woman who has Vascular dementia, the second most common form of dementia. I wasn't employed when it first started, but I believe it was caused by a stroke. She has little control over her left side, needs help walking, and takes many medicines. At first it seemed like a pretty easy job, and it still is, but it requires a lot of attention and care. The job is also very personal because I help her do many basic things, like get her food ready. She has good days and bad days, like all of us, but my favorite days are when she doesn't have a panic attack, get severely dehydrated, or think we kidnapped her and are all in on it.

http://comics.drunkduck.com/Gloop_and_Glop/pages/4aa589ebb998b8e57fb358d0c50ae5fe.jpg