About 1:00 this morning, I heard Kate whimpering. She put her arm around me and said, “I need you.” I didn’t ask what was wrong. Although milder than what I have observed before, I recognize the symptoms now. She said, “Who are my parents?” That led to a conversation that continued for about an hour. I told her about her parents, their names, where they were from, how a Michigan girl and a Texas boy met and married. She also asked about our children. I told her a similar story about them and their children. When I finished, sometimes before I finished, she asked again. She didn’t ask, but I also told her who she and I are and about our meeting and our courtship and marriage. The more I told her, the calmer she got. At one point when I reminded her that our courtship had revolved around my work at a funeral home, she laughed. It was also clear that some of what I said jogged her memory. Finally, we both went back to sleep.
I thought that both of us might sleep a little later this morning, but it didn’t happen. I was up at 5:50. That wasn’t much of a surprise. The surprise was that Kate got up early enough to be ready for Panera about 8:00. She is doing fine. I am sure she doesn’t remember her anxiety during the night. That’s the only good thing about her memory loss.
