Some years
ago my mother-in-law was visiting. She was living far away, so we only saw her
a couple of times every year. She was then in her late 60’s but bright and
intelligent and interested in everything going on in the world.
One wintry
afternoon she went out into the garden through the kitchen door. Five minutes
later she was knocking on the window pane of the patio door. I unlocked it to
let her in. She was fuming with rage: “why
do you lock me out in this terrible cold?”. I tried to explain that she had
gone out through the kitchen door, which was still unlocked. She wasn’t
convinced. We were not always on the best terms.
I forgot
about the incident.
I didn’t
see her for a long time. My wife worried about her. She was getting forgetful.
Didn’t remember where she put things.
Then one
day we went to see her. When she came down the stairs towards me, her arms wide
open and a genuine, warm smile upon her face, saying: “I’m so happy to see you!”, I knew something was wrong.
When she
then added: “What’s your name?”, I
knew it was serious.
She was
diagnosed with Alzheimer. I would prefer to have had an argument with her from
time to time.
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