Last night I bit the bullet and booked a 13-day cruise from Rome to Amsterdam. I had requested information on the cruise on their website on Monday and received an email that night. I sent an email asking about cancellation penalties if we should not be able to make the trip. I told him about Kate’s Alzheimer’s. His email response indicated that we could book for $600 and cancel up to Feb. 23, 2016. At that time we could purchase insurance that would cover the balance of the period before and during the trip. I called to talk with him after dinner last night. I discovered that the rooms were going rather quickly as this would be the christening cruise for one of their new ships. After asking questions and checking room availability. I went ahead with the booking figuring that I should have a much better idea of whether or not we can do it by Feb. 23.
Tomorrow we leave for Niagara-on-the-Lake and Chautauqua. We return on Saturday night, August 8. Things continue to go well though Kate’s short-term memory still brings surprises and requires careful coordination. For example, last Friday night after seeing Dreamgirls at the Bijou, Ellen told us she was having abdominal pain and that it was similar to what she had felt when she had had a kidney stone about 7 years ago. We ended up in the emergency room at Providence until almost 3:00 a.m. We got to bed at 3:30 and I was up at 7:30. Kate slept a little later. At lunch I asked her if she felt sleepy. She looked puzzled and asked why I would ask that. I explained that I thought maybe she hadn’t slept well. She said she had slept fine. It was clear that she had forgotten that we had been at the hospital with Ellen most of the night.
Yesterday we had a bump in the road. I had hired someone to power wash our patio, driveway, and brick wall. We had been to Lowe’s yesterday morning to buy some plants, and Kate had taken a large plastic container that I use in the trunk of the car when we bring home plants. This helps protect the trunk of the car. At any rate she had left it outside. It had rained and had created a mess in the container. She took it around back and dumped it out on the freshly clean drive right behind the garage. I reacted immediately and said something like “I just paid the guy the clean this.” That was all it took. She said, “I can never do anything right.” I have learned it is better for me not to say anything after a misstep like that. She went on to talk about how picky I am. Fortunately she calmed down, and it was all forgotten.
Then tonight we had another hiccup when I asked her if she had packed the new clothes she had bought the other day. She looked puzzled. I know that she has no idea where they are. She was frustrated and asked me to help her when we got back home from dinner. I told her I loved her, that I wanted to help her so much, but she wouldn’t let me. At least two of the outfits she had been pleased with and believed would be ideal for Chautauqua. My problem is that she won’t let me help her put them up so I know where they are. I also try to take pictures of new clothes, but she put them up before I could take pictures. It is frustrating for me, and I know it must be even more so for her.
