Aug 25th

We went to visit Mom again this morning but she was not doing real well.  She was upset about her condition and when she could not remember what her husband of 57 years had looked like she lost her composure and could not be consoled.  We left her in the able hands of the people at Orchard Valley in Wilbraham, MA and left, planning to return after lunch.  This visit only lasted one hour and we learned some lessons.  We returned in mid-afternoon and she was much better.  She was animated and smiling.  She was having a very bad memory day but did not get frustrated by it.  When she could not identify people in photos she just called them some other name and went on – we did not argue.  We spent about 2 hours with her just listening and joking with her and then left her with a big hug.

The best Mom in the world

Since we only come back to this area once per year this would probably be the last time she knew who we were.  This is a horrible disease for people like her that know that it is happening.

After the visit with Mom we returned to Dick and DuAnne’s house for dinner with them and their two sons David and Ryan.  Tomorrow, August 26th is Dick’s 67th birthday and the following day, the 27th, is DuAnne’s (I won’t tell you her age but it ends in 5 and is significant) so we celebrated with a little cake and singing.