Last week at Casa Bella, one of the couples with whom we shared a table invited us to join them for dinner last night. They are originally from Ohio where they graduated from Kent State. They lived in Buffalo for several years as well as Fort Worth. That gave us a variety of similar experiences to talk about. We fly into Buffalo every year when we go to Chautauqua and Niagara-on-the-Lake. Since Kate grew up in Fort Worth, and we met at TCU, that gave us more common experiences.
I was not at all surprised that Kate did not remember them when I told her we were meeting them for dinner. On the whole, she got along quite well although she said a number of things that may have seemed strange to them. Very early in the conversation, they brought up something about the time they lived in Fort Worth. Only moments later she started to tell them she was from Fort Worth. She stopped when I looked at her. She must have thought I was going to contradict her in some way and gave me a funny look. Then she couldn’t remember what she was going to say. I stepped in and said something about their having lived in Fort Worth. She looked surprised.
A little later, the wife asked Kate where her children live. She couldn’t remember and looked at me. I jumped in and told her and told them about the grandchildren as well. I am sure they both wondered why Kate didn’t answer for herself. At one point in our conversation, she brought up her cousin who lived in Alaska. Her timing was off, but she had said this in response to the mention of an Alaskan cruise the couple had mentioned earlier.
Before we left the house, Kate did something else that was strange. We had a warmer day yesterday, so Kate didn’t need to take a sweater or jacket with her, but she did. In addition, she brought a pair of socks even though she was already wearing socks. Even more surprising is that she took the pair of socks into the restaurant and put them on the table beside her fork. I am not sure our friends noticed, but if they did, I am sure they wondered why she had done this. The only explanation I could have given was Alzheimer’s.
It was a short day for Kate. She didn’t get up until after 11:30. We didn’t get to lunch until after 12:30, and the sitter met us at Panera at 1:00. When I returned just before 5:00, she asked me what she could do. I told her it was about time to think about dinner but that we could stop by Panera if she wanted. She did, and we were there about 15 minutes before heading to meet our friends at the restaurant. This was the first time I have sensed that she might have been getting bored just being at home with the sitter. It is another indication of how much she likes to get out of the house. I still hope that our spring-like weather will get her out in the yard again.
