Sometimes, Dad's memory problem exhibited itself with a wild idea from the blue. One time I found him sitting on the side of his bed staring at his empty calendar. "What's the matter, Dad?" He insisted that he was scheduled to go give a talk at an elementary school that afternoon. In reality, Mom and I both kept his schedule of Pearl Harbor talks in a family calendar. And anyone wanting him to speak would have scheduled it with me since I did the driving and acted as his publicist. We had to conclude that he had dreamed it up during his nap and it just seemed real. After some discussion, I was able to persuade him that there was no appointment to speak.
It seemed to help him to keep the same routine each day. He would look at his wristwatch and know what was about to happen. For example, I promised to play dominoes with him at 3PM each day. He looked forward to it. At 3PM each day, he would pick up his dominoes and head for the dinner table. I sometimes got busy and forgot. He didn't forget. If I didn't show up on time, he would start without me. Really.
Dad's mental status often reminded us of a preschool child. For several years before Dad moved in with us, Betty and I managed and taught at our church's preschool. The supervision and communication skills we learned in that endeavor served us well when it came to giving Dad guidance. MORE>
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