I was thankful to arrive home safe and sound after my two-week trip to China. Mom didn’t realize I’d been away. I’d been keeping track of events at home during my travels, so I knew that Mom had begun acting out almost every evening as she searched for her way “home,” pacing the floor in her house, desperately searching for the hidden staircase to a non-existent upstairs, and angrily shouting that she needed to leave. When my daughter Liora returned after a brief visit from m

What an adventure we had today! Mom and I took a walk down town and ended up in a curio shop that we’d passed before but never entered. I was looking for a place that might either buy or sell on consignment the beautiful, vintage bone-china tea and coffee sets that my parents inherited from my grandmother, as well as the exquisite set of Mikasa crystal glassware. It makes no sense to move them to their new home when they haven’t been used in years—or not at all.* The owner of

When Mom and I took a short walk to the grocery store and back, she was hesitant about where we were walking. She literally recognized nothing. Instead, she watched the people walking past us. As a social individual, Mom tried to connect to almost everyone who was on the sidewalk with us. She’d say hello or smile and nod. Quite a few people, either because they recognize her or because she’s a friendly old bird, reacted. This was so important to her, that she actually comment

Dealing with a parent with Alzheimer's is mercurial, with ups and downs on a moment-by-moment basis and I often think I'm overly focused on the negative (though I know there is also positive). I don’t want to keep writing negative accounts about how Mom’s abilities are fading. They are, it’s true, and we just have to accommodate her slower gait, her confusion, her inability to hold a conversation. My dad gets an A++ for keeping his cool. I know that his bi-monthly support gro