SOMETIMES NO MEMORY IS A GOOD THING !

SOMETIMES NO MEMORY IS A GOOD THING!

There are certainly some benefits for my mom not remembering some things.  She recently had to get some work done on her teeth and gums.  Elaine, her caregiver took her for the surgery and mom seemed to have never remembered anything.  I asked her if she was feeling okay and Ruthie asked” why”?  I said,”mom you had some surgery in your mouth today”.  My mom said “no I didn’t, I just went to the dentist and had a checkup”. How about the times when she went to the podiatrist who cut her toe nails and she said he didn’t do anything, or the doctor who looked in her rectum, or how “sweet” I am( not remembering all the times that we did not get along).  Times like this it may be not so bad to have no memory. 

Today’s phone call with mom was finding her upbeat and cheerful.  She actually sang me several songs, My Way which was a big hit by Frank Sinatra and Don’t Cry for Me Argentina. When I asked her if she knew who Frank Sinatra was, she answered me yes and sounding like “are you crazy, everyone knows who Frank was”.  After Ruthie finished singing, Don’t Cry For Me Argentina, my mom ads in “I’m so happy that I am alive.  I have lived a long time, not like my husband” (my dad passed away in 1995).  Then she adds in “oh well, when your time is up, your time is up and there is nothing you can do about it”.  This is another favorite expression from my mom.  Then mom started to serenade me again , with Get Me to the Church on Time from My Fair lady , which is her new daily singing encore to me and then If I Knew You We’re Coming I’d Bake a Cake and her finale was ,Singing In the Rain.  She was having lots of fun and certainly enjoying herself.

Could all her singing have to do with my dad?  He had a wonderful voice and always sang show tunes around the house. He had wanted to become a singer and made a demo in a studio when he was around 22 years old.  Maybe her singing, just like her humor, is my dad’s souls embedded in her.

 My mom was never sick ,she was the healthier one of my parents. The only thing that I can recall was that she had 4 hernias (which having one is unusual for a woman, how about having 4).   I actually had a hernia a few years ago and my brother had one last February.  I remember kidding around with my mom and telling her that we “caught” them from her and she said “no you didn’t I never had a hernia.”  As I’ve said before some parts of Alzheimer’s may not be so bad by being able to block out some pain or unpleasant memories.  Sometimes as I think about it, my mom can sound euphoric.  As of now we still remain so lucky.  I choose to delight in her happiness and not dwell on what might lie ahead.