Not All of One Part: In Four Acts with One Intermission

This has been a new adventure. Suddenly items with more than one part are causing Gregory some confusion. I will have to keep an eye on this.

ACT ONE:
Scene One: Book Mark
Scene Two: Book

Last night as we were finishing up reading, Gregory seemed to be having some trouble with his plastic, clip type bookmark. He asked me if I had another one like it and I asked why. "This just doesn't seem to work," he replied. Then after looking at the bookmark, this way and that, he said, "This may seem foolish, but I do not know how to make this work."

I demonstrated, two times on my book but and he still didn't get it. Then he realized that the reason he didn't understand how to use the bookmark is that he had put his book away and the bookmark by itself didn't make sense. Once he had his book in hand again, he was on the track.

ACT TWO:
Scene One: Electric Kettle
Scene Two: Electric Kettle Base

This morning a similar event took place. He came into the bedroom where I was working on my computer and while he couldn't explain in detail, he said something was wrong in the kitchen. I followed him in and he pointed to the electric tea kettle and said, "It doesn't seem to be working. I have the water but."

He had filled the kettle with water but it wasn't heating up. The reason it wasn't heating up is that he had placed the kettle on the counter next to the base but not ON the base. Obvious to me but not to him. Once he realized that one needed the water in the kettle AND the kettle needed to be on the base to heat the water, he was back on track.

INTERMISSION:

You may have noticed that a lot of these recent BLOG entries have been describing new things that have been going wrong, misfiring, short circuiting, causing me anguish. I feel like I have been spending a lot of time detailing Gregory's progression (regression?) and that the BLOG may seem like so much complaining. But things seem to be progressing (regressing?) at a faster rate. Hopefully it will slow down after a while.

Certainly the BLOG is one way of my dealing with our life and also a way of sharing our life with people who care and need to know. Right now, however, I am not sure how helpful this is being to other people dealing with Alzheimer's and other dementias. Let me just say that perhaps my experiences will help if only to show you that you are not alone. Hang in there. It will get worse. You will get better at dealing with the details.

ACT THREE:
Scene One: Water
Scene Two: Glass

Just now Gregory is a little distracted because the plumber is working on the kitchen sink. He asked me, pointing to the bathroom, "Can I get water in here?"

"Yes," I replied. He stood in the bathroom doorway not knowing what to do. His hand kept taking the shape of holding a glass but he looked around getting more confused. He left the room and paused in the hallway.

"Do you need a glass?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Here use this one." He came back taking the glass I had on my desk which was half filled with water. He wanted to fill it with more water but already forgot that he could get water in the bathroom so he headed for the kitchen where the plumber was working. I called him back and said, "You can get water in there," pointing towards the bathroom.

"Right," he said. Once in the bathroom however he did not know how to 'get water." It took him a real conscientious effort, thinking out loud, and finally he figured it out saying, "Of course!"

ACT FOUR:
Scene One: Helping
Scene Two: Typing
Scene Three: Worrying

Meanwhile I am being distracted helping Gregory, typing this BLOG, and wondering how much this plumber visit is going to cost me. Life goes on.

CURTAIN