People who know me well understand that I like routine and predictability. For more than six months I have been looking for Kate to get up on a schedule. I would definitely like it to be somewhat early. Around 9:00 would work well for me. Since I get up between 5:30 and 6:00 most mornings, that would give me plenty of time to myself and also allow me to spend time with Kate. For a while it looked like she would sleep as late as 11:30 to 12:30. Within the past two weeks she surprised me by getting up between 9:00 and 10:00. More recently, she has slipped back to sleeping late again. That has made me think she is settling into late pattern rather than an early one. But is she really settling into a pattern at all?
Figuring I had plenty of time this morning, I was slow getting Kate’s clothes ready for her. When I checked on her shortly before 9:00, I found that she was up and looking around for clothes. She was confused and had been going through a closet in a guest room where she keeps her dressiest clothes, the ones she never wears these days. She was glad to see me and wanted my help. I took her to the room that we call “Kate’s room.” We used to call it her office, but she gave up any activity of the kind that she would do in an office. It has the closet where she keeps all her everyday clothes. I grabbed one of the new sweaters I had bought the day before along with a pair of pants and walked her back to our bedroom where she could take a shower in our bath.
Her confusion continued. She wanted me to tell her what she should do for each step. As I was doing this, she said, “Who are you?” I said, “Do you mean ‘What is our relationship or my name?’” She wanted my name. I went back to the kitchen while she showered. When I returned fifteen minutes later, she was in bed. She almost always gets back in bed after her shower. Since she had gotten up earlier than I expected, I decided to let her relax a while.
I returned forty-five minutes later. I assumed she would still be in bed, and she was. When she saw me, she said, “Are you my daddy?” I told her I was her husband. She was surprised but didn’t challenge me. I told her I would like to take her to lunch. She gave her customary response, “Where are my clothes?” I showed her and then helped her put them on.
We ate at the Tupelo Grill for lunch. She wasn’t talkative, but we had a nice time. It was three weeks since we had been there, so we had conversation with our server about our respective Thanksgivings. A little later we had another conversation with her about our Christmas plans.
On the way home I turned on the radio. George W. was beginning his remarks at his father’s service. She listened attentively. When we got home, she wanted to stay in the car to listen to more. I told her I would turn on the TV, and she could watch the rest of the service inside. She liked that and quickly became engaged. She especially liked the music, but she was trying to follow everything. She was still watching when the sitter arrived. I was pleased to see that she gave the sitter a warm welcome before leaving.
When I got home, she and the sitter were seated in front of the TV though Kate was working on her iPad. They had not left the house at all. Apparently, the service and follow up afterwards had held her attention. That was a rare event. I was glad to know that she showed such interest. I am sure she couldn’t follow much of it, but she could sense the emotions of the moment.
After coming home from dinner, she started working on her iPad. Several times she asked for my help. At least one of those times, she had accidentally opened a different app. The others, however, involved her having trouble putting the pieces in place. Once was when she first opened a puzzle. The pieces were scattered across the screen, and she didn’t know what to do. This was not the first time this has happened; however, it always surprises me. Since she works puzzles six to eight hours a day and had just finished a puzzle, it seems like her “autopilot” would take over when a new one is opened. She encountered another problem that also seems surprising. There was only one piece remaining. It was the bottom, left hand corner piece and was clearly visible (to me, at least). She couldn’t figure out how to finish the puzzle. I showed her the piece and then showed her the place where it was to go. A few minutes later, she became frustrated and asked me if she could go to bed. It was just before 7:30. I told her that would be fine and got her night clothes for her and helped her get into them. I am hoping this will make it easy for her to get up in the morning. We will need to leave for my doctor’s office by 10:00.
Tomorrow I have my labs in advance of an appointment next week.
