Sleeping Later Doesn’t Always Mean Later

As I have mentioned in recent posts, Kate now sleeps later than she used to although sometimes she surprises me. Today was one of those. I was listening to a book by Donna Leon while taking a 30-minute walk around the house. (Yes, I know it sounds boring to walk in the house, but listening to books helps. Besides I no longer feel comfortable leaving Kate alone.) Just as I was ending my last circle from kitchen, to family room, to living room, to dining room, and back to kitchen, Kate opened the door to the family room. It was 7:30, very atypical for her. In fact, I think this would be the earliest she has gotten up during the past eight or nine months.

When I walked over to her, she asked, “Where are my clothes?” I often put them out before I go to bed but didn’t do so last night. I intended to do that this morning but thought I would have more time. I told her I would help her. She asked again where her clothes were. I detected that she wasn’t just asking the location of her clothes for the day. She was looking for all of her clothes to pick out something. She no longer knows where we keep anything. A little later I discovered that she had been in my closet. She was no doubt looking for her things.

I walked her back to her room. As we walked along the hallway, she stopped to look at a picture of her mother when she was in her late teens or early twenties. She said, “Who is that?” I told her it was her mother and said, “She was a beautiful woman.” She said, “Is she gone?” I told her she had died thirteen years ago. She was sad. Then I showed her pictures of her grandparents and the old Franklin home in Fort Worth. When we got to her room, I asked if she would like me to pick out something for her. She did. I gathered several things together, and we walked back to our bedroom.

I laid out her clothes on the bed and she said, “Don’t you want me to take a shower?” I told her that would be nice, and she said, “Who are you?” I gave her my name and explained that I am her husband. She was mildly surprised but not alarmed by the news. We walked into bathroom where I turned on the shower and left her to bathe.

I learned two lessons. The first is that I should be sure to get her clothes ready the night before. The second involves a new video monitor I set up yesterday. It is simply a small Amazon Cloud Cam that connects to my computer, iPad, and iPhone. It seems to work well, but it’s of little help if I don’t check it. <g>