Middle of the Night Madness

Dad's understanding of time of day is weak at best. In the past, he used daylight to gauge when to go to bed and when to get up. This meant that he was going to bed very early in the winter and getting up extremely early in the summer. However, it was at least approximately correct.

Lately, Dad has not even been able to use these clues. This has resulted in some strange and annoying incidents. He will randomly decide it's bed time any time after 6:30. This means that any time we need/want to go out in the evening, we'll run the risk of Dad going to bed too early and either not preparing properly (diaper, medication, etc.) or putting a burden on Mom that she has a hard time with. On another day, he may decide it's NOT bedtime and resist being made ready for bed. These are irritating events but not really problematic.

The problem comes when he decides to get up at 1:30 a.m. We have a huge triple sliding glass door in Dad's living area and a large window with only light filtering curtains in his bedroom. There is no reason for him not to be able to see that it isn't daylight. However, twice while my daughter was visiting, he decided that it was morning and that he needed to get up. Now my daughter had brought her two 1/2 lab puppies with her. To keep them from barking at night, we locked them in the utility room. Both times Dad got up, he let the puppies into the house. Now first of all, they are labs which means they chew. They chew EVERYTHING--sprinkler systems, lawn furniture, air conditioning insulation, you name it. Second, since they are puppies, they are only partially house broken. Fortunately, I heard the puppies both times and got them before anything happened, but it was a narrow escape.

The really puzzling thing is why Dad let them inside in the first place. He doesn't ever go into the utility room unless he is on the way to the car. So, the need to go into the room where they were isn't a reason. Furthermore, he doesn't even LIKE dogs. (see July 5)

T'is a puzzlement.

A Voice from the Distance

Plaintively, "Don't pee on the carpet, please."

a few moments later...

Deep sigh, "Too late."

Dad's Views of My Husband

Sometimes, Dad knows who my husband is. Other times he is "that man who helps me" or just "that man." My husband has worked for the university since 1980. Dad has been on campus and seen where he works many, many times. He's never understood what my hsuband did, but that's not surprising since he never has had a clue (even pre-Alzheimer's) what computers do or what kinds of people work on them. However, he has come up with some interesting things that he thinks is "true of him:"

Once, my husband was briefly the last of the Romanovs (See July 9).

Another time, he was an investment banker who had gotten very rich and who had advised Dad on his investments. (I wish)

Recently, he was a former Dallas Cowboy football player. (note--my husband has a runner/cyclist build. He is 5'10" and weighs about 145 lbs. I don't think he would last 5 minutes on the field with professional football players.)

My husband and my brother have the same name. That has caused minor confusion over the past 34 years, but we usually know which one we are talking about. However, it is really confusing Dad. Sometimes when he remembers my husband's name, he think my husband is his son and that I am his daughter-in-law.

It's getting really interesting....

News Flash

According to Dad, the last of the Romanovs now lives in Houston. In the continuing saga of Dad's fascination with the Romanovs, he created a new chapter:

The son of the last of the Romanovs was born in England. As an adult, he moved to New York City. There, he aquired a lot of land and got very rich. However, New York has a large inheritance tax, so he sold his land in New York City and bought land in downtown Houston. He chose Houston because Texas doesn't have any inheritance tax. The land in Houston became very valuable. He sold most of the land in downtown Houston and became very rich.

Somehow the story got muddy here and I couldn't follow it. Dad says he is the grandson of the son of the last of the Romanovs. However, something happened to all the money he made because he is now very poor. (See July 20 about being rich and poor)

Visit from Granddaughter and Great-Grandson

My daughter and her 18 month old son came for a visit. This has prompted several funny comments from Dad.

The morning after they arrived, Dad was asking who the girl and baby were. Mom explained that the girl is his granddaughter and the baby is his great-grandson. He asked if she was married. Mom told him that he had gone to the wedding and showed him a picture. He said, "I don't remember giving her permission to get married." (as if she needed permission from a grandparent)

Then Dad asked if his son was married. Mom answered yes. Dad said he didn't remember the wedding. Mom told him he went to the wedding in Florida. (My sister-in-law's family lives in Florida. She hasn't lived there in more than 15 years. They live in Fort Worth.)

I didn't know about this conversation. Out of the blue at dinner that nignt, Dad pops up with, "My son wants me to move to Florida. I don't want to live in Florida." I asked him why he thought my brother wanted him to move to Florida. He said because that's where he got married. I told him the wedding was in Florida, but his son lived in Fort Worth. He said, "Good, because I don't want to live in Florida." (note--Dad and my brother have never gotten along. The LAST thing my brother would want would be to have Dad live near/with him.)

My husband took my daughter and her son to Dallas for a convention. After they had been gone 4 days, Dad finally notices that my husband (who puts him to bed every night and dresses him most mornings) is gone. At dinner, he points to my husband's chair and asks where "that man" is.