In my last post I mentioned a sad moment Kate and I had experienced when she was so disturbed about the way she looks. I’d like to balance that with a couple of happy moments. We still have them, and they seem more important now than ever before. I think about “moments” more lately because it seems harder for me to describe a full day in a single word.
Two times in the past few days we have had an especially good time looking through her family photo books. Both of those occurred after her afternoon rest. In each case, I took the initiative of suggesting we sit down side by side and look at one. I make a point of that because she often looks at the cover of one of her books, but she doesn’t spend much time with them by herself. I think it must be that she doesn’t recognize the people, at least most of them, and she doesn’t have the ability to recall or imagine anything about the pictures or the people in them. She needs someone to give her specific names and information that provides the context for what her eyes see.
As it is for other activities we share together, I have as much fun going through the photo books as she does. Of course, a significant aspect of the pleasure for me is seeing her eyes light up and hearing her enthusiasm as we look at each photo. She continues to comment on people’s smiles and their eyes. Her primary interest appears to be in the mood of each person. I don’t recall her mentioning anything about clothes that people wore or anything else. She does say good things about her family as a group. Her strongest feelings are for her parents, especially her mother, but she expresses those mostly when she looks at some of their framed pictures around the house.
I find these moments a good substitute for our afternoon trips to Barnes & Noble. We rarely go there now. When we finish, it is about time for dinner. It sets a nice tone to our relationship that extends until bedtime. That remains the most predictable good time of the day. I think that is because neither one of us feels any pressure. It’s a time when we just relax together.
Yesterday Kate was in a good mood when she got up, and it lasted all day. At lunch we had another happy moment. Kate was unusually talkative. I can’t begin to remember all the things she said. A lot of it involved how fortunate she and I have been. She was upbeat about everything.
There was a sad moment, however, when the server stopped at our table and said something nice to Kate. After she left, Kate commented on that. She specifically noted that the server had talked to her and that people usually talk to me. I have noticed the same thing. She didn’t seem disturbed about it. I think there are two things that account for that. One is that people don’t know what to say. The other is that Kate is slow to respond. That makes it hard for her to play an active role in a conversation with three or more people. The conversation then drifts to one between the others and me. Maybe that is why conversations like the one we had yesterday mean so much. She is relaxed and can be herself.
Last night we had dinner with a couple we know from our music nights at Casa Bella. We arrived first, and Kate already seemed like she needed to prepare herself. As she often does when it is just the two of us, she picked up the menu. She quickly found that she couldn’t read it and asked me what she should get. I explained that she usually gets either the Tortelloni alla Stephania or the Tortelloni alla Panna. I told her I would order for her and that she had the Stephania last week, so she might like the alla Panna this week. She tried several times to pronounce it.
About that time, our friends arrived. As soon as they were seated, Kate asked their names. She tried to repeat them back and was able to do so after a couple of tries. Of course, she forgot them immediately, so she asked again several times back to back before stopping.
Then she gave her attention to what she should order. I told her I thought she would like the Tortelloni alla Panna. She tried unsuccessfully to pronounce it. Then she asked Lisa. She and Lisa worked on the pronunciation a few times. Fortunately, the server came for our order a few minutes later, and I gave her our orders. Kate was off the hook. She must have felt a sense of relief to have that hurdle behind her.
She really wanted to be a part of the conversation, but it was too hard for her. Lisa is a fast talker. Ben speaks softly. At first, she kept asking each of them to repeat things that she didn’t understand. After a while, she just gave up. Because it was such a challenge for Kate, I thought this was likely to be one of the last times we get together. When we said goodbye, I asked Kate how she had enjoyed the evening. She said she enjoyed it. She didn’t seem bothered in any way. Nevertheless, I believe situations like this may become even more difficult in the future. I will certainly stop them if that happens. Until then, I think it is good for both of us to have the additional stimulation of being with other people.
Experiences like this make our happy moments together even more important. I am optimistic that we still have a lot of them in the days ahead whether it is just the two of us or with others.
