Each night I take Kate’s iPad to the kitchen where I charge it when I get up the next morning. The past two days I have noticed another sign of Kate’s changes. Her battery was already at 80% of its capacity. Over the past week or so I think it was in the 60-70% range. Normally, it would be at 30-40% or lower. That is a striking change and provides a measure of how much less she has used her iPad.
Her sleeping and rest have also been a little different. Yesterday was the second day in a row that she was up early. Both days we got to Panera around 10:00. That gave us time to relax there for an hour or more before lunch. I like being able to do that. It makes a nice daily routine and an easy lowkey way for Kate to begin her day.
Getting up earlier does have a downside. It means she hasn’t gotten as much rest or sleep as she usually does. The result is she spent most of the past two afternoons resting on the sofa in the family room. That’s what she was doing yesterday when I came home at 4:00 to relieve the sitter. In the past, Kate would have been ready to go out when I arrived. This time she wanted to continue resting. A half hour passed, and I asked if she would like for the two of us to look at one of her photo books. She didn’t. At first, I was concerned that she might be a little depressed. I talked with her a few minutes to get a sense of that. She wasn’t depressed. She was simply enjoying relaxing. I let her remain there until 5:30 when I suggested we go to dinner.
When we got home, I gave her a photo book to look at while I watched the news. She never opened it. She said she wanted to rest. I hesitated at first because it was 7:00. I thought she might have trouble going to sleep if she rested a little more, but I decided that it might be good for her to get a better night’s sleep. I suggested we go to the bedroom where she could rest in bed.
At 8:00, I got her night clothes for her and helped her prepare for the night. It was another two hours before I came to bed. I don’t know if she had been asleep at all. I do know she was awake when I got in bed. She was also in a good mood. She seemed very content. I am glad that she is happy, but I also see all her changes as a part of her overall decline and know there is a lot more to come.
