Signs of Confusion

Kate’s imagination was active over the weekend. Before we got out of the car for lunch yesterday, she had a look on her face that signaled deep concern. She said, “I just don’t know what to think.” As often happens, she couldn’t explain what had happened. She said something about our daughter, Jesse. I asked if she thought something had happened with Jesse and her husband, Greg. She nodded. I said, “Did you think they were separated?” Again, she nodded. I told her everything was all right, that they had not separated. She said, “I must have imagined it.” Periodically, she has had experiences like this, and she seems to grasp that the origin is in her mind.

As we were leaving the house for dinner last night, she specifically went to our bedroom and turned on the lamp on the table next to here side of the bed. She asked if she should turn on the one on my side. I told her I thought we could leave it off. As we walked through the family room, she asked, “What time are they coming?” I told her we weren’t expecting anyone, that we would have the house to ourselves. She didn’t say anything else, and I didn’t ask.

While at Panera this morning, I received a phone call from Scott Greeley. We arranged for the Greeleys to visit us this Saturday. When we hung up, I told Kate it was Scott and that they would be in Knoxville on Saturday for lunch. She said, “Good. I really like them.” Then she added, “What’s her name?” I told her. Only moments later, she said, “Jan.” I said, “Right.” Then she said, “I know that you know her name; I just wanted to let you know I got it myself without asking you.” She had apparently forgotten that just moments before she had asked me for Jan’s name.

When I got home from Rotary, the Y, and the grocery this afternoon, Kate was ready to get out of the house. As she has done a number of other times recently, she was carrying a night gown, a robe, a pair of pants, and a top. She noticed that I was taking 6 new pairs of socks out of their packages and asked that I give them to her. She did not have her iPad and a cup. I got a cup and then used the Find my iPhone app to locate her iPad. When I returned to the kitchen with the iPad, she was still holding the clothes along with the socks I had just bought. I asked if she were planning to take the clothes with her. She indicated she was. I told her I didn’t think she would need them. She said that would be fine. I suggested we leave them on the love seat in the family room until we returned. She put them on the love seat. As we started for the car, she picked up the robe and brought it with her. It’s sitting in the car right now.