2017-10-16 (10:31 am)
I have been a frequent reader of the posts of the members of Memory People, a closed group of people with dementia, their caregivers, or anyone else with an interest in dementia. Last night I read one that caught my attention. Many of the posts are written by caregivers expressing a range of emotions from sadness, to frustration, to anger as well as a modest share of more touching stories about the ones for whom they care. This one falls in the latter category. I was especially happy to read it because it sounded so much like something I could have written about Kate and me.
I replied to his post and thanked him. He replied to me and mentioned that he had planned to go to Wake Forest but ended up at the University of Wisconsin because of a nice scholarship they awarded. I suspect he must have checked my Facebook profile and seen that I had graduated from Wake. I responded to him and said that Wake and Wisconsin had been special places for us as Kate and I had met at Wake, and our first move was to Madison. What an interesting coincidence.
I checked further to learn that he is pastor of a Baptist church within a 100 miles of Nashville. I wonder if we will have other communications. I will certainly look for other posts he writes.
The second experience occurred this morning at Panera. Upon our arrival, we stopped at a table where two regulars were seated. We got into a conversation. At one point, one of the men mentioned to the other that we were getting ready to make a trip to Wake Forest. Kate had a big look of surprise and said enthusiastically, “We are? You didn’t tell me that!”
Her response surprised me, not because she had forgotten that we were leaving tomorrow. Even tomorrow morning, she won’t remember when we are going. I did, however, think that she would remember that we were going soon. We have been talking about it and the fact that she will be seeing cousins, her grandson who is a freshman, our son, and a number of friends from elementary school. It was humorous as well because I knew that the man who brought it up knew that I had told Kate about the trip.
