One of the best things I love about young children is their emotional honesty and how their short term memory works. When my son was little he would sometimes come crying into my arms and would tell me his sister was mean to him, and that she hurt his feelings. I would wipe his tears, hug him, kiss his chest and sometimes offer to put a bandaid over his heart. In no time, he would run off to play with his sister, forgetting that she was "mean" to him.
These days, I see my mom acting much like a young child. She is brutally honest about certain things, and she quickly forgets. The other day, I was driving mom and dad back to their home from a long day of doctor visits. It was getting to be dinner time and knowing that cooking was a struggle for them both I offered to buy them take-out dinner. Dad said "No", being the very proud man that he is, for at 78 years old he still believes he should be the one taking care of everybody and not the other way around. But mom who ordinarily would just comply with dad spoke up and said, "There is nothing to eat at home and I'm getting hungry." Wow, before her Alzheimer's disease, she would never say such a thing! Well, a little honesty goes a long way. I picked up some dinner for them, and heard mom exclaim "Oh, I love these Chipotle bowls!." I glanced over at dad through the rear view mirror and he just shrugged his shoulders. Lo and behold less then 10 minutes later, I stopped the car to drop them off in their driveway and handed mom the bag containing their dinner. She asks me what it is. I tell her it's their dinner. Mom looks to dad and says to me "Oh no, I can't accept that. I have to cook for your dad. You take it." I tell her it's ok, that she's had a long day and she should get a day off from cooking. She says, "Oh, yes. It's getting difficult to cook these days. I no longer enjoy cooking anymore."
I pull out of their driveway and get on the road to come home. All the while thinking, "I'm glad Dad's there, so she doesn't forget to eat".
These days, I see my mom acting much like a young child. She is brutally honest about certain things, and she quickly forgets. The other day, I was driving mom and dad back to their home from a long day of doctor visits. It was getting to be dinner time and knowing that cooking was a struggle for them both I offered to buy them take-out dinner. Dad said "No", being the very proud man that he is, for at 78 years old he still believes he should be the one taking care of everybody and not the other way around. But mom who ordinarily would just comply with dad spoke up and said, "There is nothing to eat at home and I'm getting hungry." Wow, before her Alzheimer's disease, she would never say such a thing! Well, a little honesty goes a long way. I picked up some dinner for them, and heard mom exclaim "Oh, I love these Chipotle bowls!." I glanced over at dad through the rear view mirror and he just shrugged his shoulders. Lo and behold less then 10 minutes later, I stopped the car to drop them off in their driveway and handed mom the bag containing their dinner. She asks me what it is. I tell her it's their dinner. Mom looks to dad and says to me "Oh no, I can't accept that. I have to cook for your dad. You take it." I tell her it's ok, that she's had a long day and she should get a day off from cooking. She says, "Oh, yes. It's getting difficult to cook these days. I no longer enjoy cooking anymore."
I pull out of their driveway and get on the road to come home. All the while thinking, "I'm glad Dad's there, so she doesn't forget to eat".
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