Another Nice Day. Confusion is a Constant

We didn’t do anything special, but yesterday was another nice day. Kate was cheerful all day. She got up rather easily around 10:00. I had turned on some music about 30 minutes earlier. I think she was awake most of the time between then and when I got her up. We got her muffin at Panera and then went to lunch at Applebee’s.

She was especially interested in my name, her name, and the names of her parents at both places. This was another of those times she was also confused about who I am and not just my name. This came up when she asked her name. When I told her, she said, “Where did Creighton come from?” I told her that was my last name and that she had taken it when we married. As on other occasions, she was surprised that we are married. This time she said, “Well, I guess it could be worse?”

Things went very well with the sitter. Mary was waiting for us when we returned from lunch. Kate asked who that was. I told her it was Mary who stays with her when I go to the Y on Wednesdays and Fridays. She didn’t express any displeasure at that. She greeted Mary warmly when we got out of the car. I set up YouTube videos of the Tabernacle Choir for them to watch. Kate was especially eager to watch them. When I got home four hours later, they were still watching. I was surprised. It is a very rare event if Kate remains in one place for four hours. I suspect she didn’t even go to the bathroom. Right after Mary left, Kate said, “I want to go to the bathroom. Where is it?” I haven’t mentioned this before, but on a number of other occasions she has asked the location of the bathroom. Once she called me as she was walking to the bathroom to ask if the toilet was working. That may have been prompted by a plumbers visit three weeks ago.

She got up on her own today. That enabled us to get to Panera at 10:45 for her muffin. I was glad we got off to a good start since Tom and Angie Robinson are coming in for a visit today. They should be here by 11:30. We’ll meet at our house and then go out to eat. We have been visiting back and forth for almost 50 years. We have experienced a lot of changes over the years. I remember when we used to pack up all the children’s paraphernalia and stay overnight. We simplified that later on. Now we just make day trips. We eat out, enjoy one another’s company, and return home. As always, I will be interested in how Kate handles herself. She has changed a lot since they were first aware of her Alzheimer’s, but she still seems to mange well in social situations. There will come a time when she doesn’t. I don’t expect that to happen today.