Hiring Help
The Dusk Log Is a Job of Its Own: Keep the Notes Yourself or Hand the Writing to a Helper
Someone has to write down when the restlessness started, what helped, and what did not, and deciding who holds that pen is a real choice.
A bad evening is hard to read in hindsight. After a long day, you remember the worst moment and forget the ten minutes that came before it. A simple written log solves this. Over several weeks, it shows you whether the restlessness starts at the same hour, follows the same trigger, or eases after the same activity. The log is only useful if someone keeps it, and who keeps it is a decision you can make on purpose.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
What belongs in the log
Keep the entries short enough to finish in under a minute. Write down the time she first asked to leave or reached for her coat, what she seemed to be looking for, where you were standing, what the room was like with the lights and television, and what you tried. A single line for each entry is enough. You are recording patterns, not writing a report.
Choose who writes it
You can keep the log yourself. You know her best, but you are also the person who is tired at dusk, so the entries may thin out exactly when they matter most. A family member can take turns, which spreads the work but requires a shared place to write, such as a notebook on the kitchen counter. A hired helper can write the entries for the hours they work. They will record what they saw, but they will not know what happened an hour before they arrived, so ask them to note how they found her when they came in. A day program or other staff member may also keep notes, if you ask them to share the format.
Whichever way you choose, decide who reads the log and how often. A log that no one reads has the same value as a log that was never kept.
Keep medicine notes separate
If you want the log to track medicine, keep that information with the family. A hired helper can note that a reminder was given, but recording and managing doses stays with the family, the doctor and the pharmacist. Bring the log to a doctor visit as a set of observations and questions, not as a diagnosis.
For the trade-offs of handing off other evening work, see Start Here: Dusk to Morning, in Order. For how this site describes its own scope and limits, see About this site.