Our daughter and son were in town this past weekend to celebrate Kate’s 80th birthday. It’s always nice to have them, but this weekend was very special. Most importantly, Kate enjoyed herself. Saturday, the day of her celebration, she was out of bed all afternoon and through dinner. She joined in with the singing of Happy Birthday and gobbled up her cake and ice cream.
Beyond that Jesse, Kevin, and I had more opportunity to talk among ourselves than we usually do. That gave me a chance to update them on our situation as well as for them to see for themselves how we are doing. I consider them as partners in our lives as seniors. Since we are moving to a continuing care retirement community in April, the two of them looked around the house for things they might like to have. All-in-all it was one of the best family times we’ve ever had, and I think they felt the same way.
Jesse left on Sunday, but Kevin didn’t fly out until Monday afternoon. That gave the two of us a chance to have lunch together before dropping him off at the airport. He has been coming for a long weekend two or three times a year since 2014, and this was the first time we have had a meal together without Kate. It was another good opportunity for us to have a leisurely chat.
Starting with the weekend and extending through Wednesday, Kate had a string of six consecutive good days. That doesn’t mean we were able to get her out of bed each day. It means that she enjoyed herself more than usual. We’re experimenting with a new routine. We don’t try to get her out of bed too soon after she wakes up and has her breakfast/lunch. We have found that she is more likely to express a desire to get up later in the day. We’re trying to take advantage of that inclination, and it seems to be working. If she isn’t interested, we accept that and wait until another day.
Once again, I like to emphasize that even at this late stage of Kate’s Alzheimer’s, she and I are still having good times together.
