4 Days with Mom in California

 

I like to join Many Little Blessings for List it Tuesdays.  It helps, sometimes, to have a theme for my blog.  Those who follow me know that I am currently in California dropping off my Mom to stay with my brother until March.  This gets her out of the horrid weather and it gives me and Frank a much needed break from caregiving.

Today, for List it Tuesday, I am going to share some Momism's from this trip.

1. Mom could not believe that the train we were on was barely moving.  (We took a plane)
2. When we landed at the airport near my brother's house and were waiting for our luggage she repeatedly would ask Mary "who are all these people?"  Mary would answer that she didn't know and Mom would say "Oh, I thought you lived here".
3. As we were driving to Larry and Mary's house, Mom looked at me and asked if the people we were going to see would be there.  I asked where and she said "where we are going".  I asked if she meant Mary and Larry's and she responded that she guessed so.  I said "Well, Larry is right here, driving."  She looked at me like I was nuts and said "That's not Larry".
4. She cannot remember Mary's name.  Mary is officially "that woman".
5. Each night she wants me to sleep in her bed with her because she thinks that I don't have a bed.
6. When we went to see her sister, Joann, she looked at me and said "She looks so familiar to me, she reminds me of someone I used to know".  I said "yes, this is your sister, Joann".  Mom says "Exactly, she reminds me exactly of Joann".  We could not convince her that it was actually Joann.
7. Mom cannot wrap her mind around how far away from home we are.  She keeps looking at me and saying we better get home now before it gets too late.
8. Last night she looked at Larry and asked him if his mother was still alive.
9. Larry and Mary have a virtual picture frame with thousands of pictures.  Mom sits in front of this all day long wanting to know who everyone is.  I had one at my house (it broke after the 4th or 5th time of me being called into the living room while cooking dinner to tell her who people were only to have the picture already changed).  I think Larry and Mary's needs to break too, just for their own sanity LOL.

These are the Momisms I can recall of the top of my head for the past few days.  My heart hurts for Mom in her confusion and it hurts for my family who could not be prepared for how much more Mom's mind has diminished since they saw her last.  I live with her day in and day out so I don't notice it as much. For me, it gets a little worse each day but if you don't see her for awhile it is a huge difference.

 

Mom cannot remember her sister, her children,

 grandchildren or great grandchildren.

She cannot remember her relationship to those of us she does recognize.

But the minute she walked in the house she said "Oh, there's my dog".

She and Angel are together constantly. 

You never see one without the other.