About a month ago, before it got so blooming hot, I was enjoying my back porch with BFF Lucy. By the time it got good dark and we had polished off our bottle of wine, I began to get a little emotional, maudlin even; we'd been talking about our mothers, and I began to cry. "I don't want to get old and senile like my mother did!" I wailed. "Shut that up right now!" she barked. "Besides, I heard if you work a crossword puzzle every day, you will stay mentally alert."

I'm not sure Lucy's remedy works for everybody. I do know that playing Scrabble every day and beating the computer makes me feel smarter. Coming up with something to say on this blog everyday is a challenge that exercises a couple of the old brain cells, too. Maybe that's why I was worried about slipping into senility.... blogging was proving to be too difficult. With my feeble mind, I just couldn't think of anything worthwhile to say. I still can't, but today that isn't stopping me.

It's been a fairly productive day for me. The depressing funk comes and goes, but the latest one is beginning to clear. I've suffered some dark bouts of blue devils since the December accident. The antidepressant helps, but drinking the occasional glass of wine cuts its effectiveness, my pharmacist tells me. Guess that's why I don't do it very often.

Mike's condition slowly improves, especially since he started counseling, but I'm really tired of having to drive him everywhere. I'm not sure he will ever drive again, the brain damage was too severe, plus his eyesight was affected. He's controlling his temper better, and is making a conscientious effort to empathize. And he stays in his room most of the time, which I really appreciate. It's not an ideal set-up, but it could be a lot worse.

We are blessed and today I feel thankful.