Full moon and a special day no longer remembered…

I arrived at the home today during exercise time but Mom wasn’t there.  She had gone back to her room to put her shawl away but evidently forgot to come back out.  Her door was locked from the inside so I knocked… and knocked… and knocked.  No answer.  Whitney unlocked the door for me and there Mom stood, looking toward the door.

A huge smile washed over her face as I stepped into the room and her arms went out for a hug.  Greetings and hugs out of the way, we walked back down the hall to join the others for exercises.  Sitting in a chair, Mom moved her hands and raised her arms a few times and then stopped, pointing to her shoulder.  She, and the other residents, watched as Beth and I did the exercises.  Seems they weren’t of a mind to join in today.  J

The Daily Chronicle was next and one of the residents, a former school librarian, read the one page newsletter.  Her reading skills are still quite strong and she even adds a bit of wry commentary here and there.  The residents seldom catch her quips but there are times when Beth and I can’t help but laugh out loud.

As she read, I pointed to the date on the newsletter, March 7.  Mom looked but registered no recognition of the date.  Today would have been Daddy’s 96^th birthday if Alzheimer’s had not taken him so many years ago.  The date no longer holds meaning in Mom’s mind but she still recognizes his picture.  Most days she says he is her husband, here and there she says he’s my father, an indication that she recognizes our relationship at that moment, and sometimes she even comes up with his name.

Full moon is dancing around today though, tomorrow being the official full moon.  I watch as one resident is holding a few of today’s Daily Chronicle, showing the gentleman beside her something on the page but talking about a totally different topic.  Meanwhile the gentleman, seemingly participating in the conversation, is telling her, “I’m glad we got that settled.”  I wish I would have been able to record that conversation!

Mom didn't smile because she was trying to figure out what I was holding "that thing" up for.

The full moon effect shows up in Mom in a subtle way today.  She told me she needed to go “in there” – her signal that she needs to use the restroom.  When she walked into her private bathroom, she looked lost.  I gave her a gentle reminder of her purpose but she looked at the fixtures as if wondering what they were doing there.  She told me that things “were very different”.  I pointed out the toilet and the toilet paper – she was still confused.  Then she went to her dresser to get her “bits”.  She looked through her dresser, obviously looking for something to use in the bathroom.  I let her go through her motions because I have learned that stepping in to the midst of the task can cause more confusion and have surprising (and not hygienic) consequences.

She eventually made her way into the bathroom and used it successfully.  I gently reminded her to wash her hands and we walked to the dining room where I was able to get her settled for lunch.

For now, her love for Daddy is still there but I’m happy to take over the remembrance of his special day since she can’t.