We had a nice day yesterday. It was our 56th anniversary. Quite a few times, we have been out of town celebrating the occasion. Tomorrow we are making an overnight trip to Asheville, but we’ll be back the following day. The trip is really more for me than for Kate. She can’t remember that it was our anniversary or that we have often celebrated there, but I remember. This is likely our last trip. I would like to see a couple of people who have been especially kind to us on past visits. One is a woman who works behind the desk at the hotel. The other is a server who has taken care of us at three different restaurants and is now working at a fourth. They are like so many others we see on our daily visits to restaurants around here in Knoxville. I want them to know how important they are to people like Kate and me. They all play a vital role in our own “unrecognized” support system.
I did something different with our sitter yesterday. I asked her to meet us for lunch, and she could take Kate back home. After we sat down, Kate played the role of a hostess and said to her, “Tell me your name.” She said, “Mary.” Kate said, “That’s a nice name.” I should mention that Mary is the only sitter who has been with us since I engaged sitters a year and eight months ago. Then Kate proceeded to point to me and said, “I’m his daughter.” Neither of us corrected her.
When I returned home, I found the two of them in the family room where Kate was looking through her “Big Sister” album. I sat down with her, and we went through the rest of the book together. She continues to enjoy this album, but she never shows any improvement in her ability to recognize the people in every photo. She does generally recognize the photo of herself on the cover and often recognizes her brother who is seated beside her.
I had bought an anniversary card for her and written a short note printed with a 32-point font so that she might be able to read it. I read it for her but plan to put it in her memory book. We shared a tender moment as we reflected on our marriage and how fortunate we have been. Then we went to dinner and relaxed with music until bedtime.
She was in bed about thirty minutes before me. When I got in bed, I moved close to her and put my arm around her. I said, “We had another good day, didn’t we?” She agreed. I said, “We had a nice anniversary.” She said, “Anniversary for what?” I said, “It’s our wedding anniversary.” She laughed, something she has done quite a few times when she doesn’t remember that we are married. I said, “Don’t you believe we’re married?” She said she didn’t. I said, “Then how do you explain that we’re snuggled up in bed like this ?” She said, “Well, you’re very nice to talk with.” I said, “I love you.” She said, ‘I love you too.”
Life is different these days, but I hope you can tell that we still enjoy life and each other.
