My mom seemed sluggish today during our visit: eyes half closed, a slurring of words. “I used to love you,” she said, part of her almost unintelligible word salad. We were sitting together at one of the tables in the main room. The occupational therapist was handing out different projects to the residents. One woman was gluing small colorful sticks onto a piece of cardboard, another sticking small round stickers onto a patterned paper, a third reading the newspaper and tearin

Mom has a new friend—a stuffed kitten named Fred. She sits with him, strokes him, and sings to him. It is strange to watch her interact so intensely with this inanimate toy, but it seems to bring her comfort. She especially enjoys stroking his soft fur. Touch is an important sense for Mom. We regularly hug each other and I am often the recipient of many kisses when we’re together. It is one of the ways in which we communicate our love. It allows me to show Mom tenderness when