Being Cooperative

In my recent entries I have paid particular attention to ways in which Kate has declined. One thing that I haven’t mentioned directly is that she has been unusually cooperative with me over the past few days. It isn’t that she is normally uncooperative, but she has held on to her independence and has expressed resistance to many things that I have done to help her. That involves things like offering her my hand when she is walking up or down steps, selecting clothes for her, or telling her about stains on here clothes. It also involves things like letting her know when it is time to go some place or how much time we have until we leave or whether we have a lot of time or whether we need to hurry.

Recently, she has not expressed the same degree of resistance or irritation. I don’t mean that it has disappeared, but that it is very noticeable that she has been much more agreeable in the past few days. I can’t help wondering if this might not be another indicator of her decline, that she is acknowledging her dependence on me and letting me take charge. I will also say that I have been increasingly respectful of her desire for independence and wonder if my own actions have been less threatening to her sense of independence.