Princess, my mom always knows who we are, but she gets nasty at times, because she feels like it. All the good times shared disappear into a dark rabbit hole somewhere. I have learned to say, "well, I guess I'd better get going." I tried to discuss her angst with her; I tried to reason with her; I tried to help her figure out what was wrong; I tried to change her mood by talking about other things; I tried telling her she had every right to express herself... these were different approaches I've tried since May, until a little over a month ago, that is when I couldn't control my own angst. I let her have it verbally. Now, mind you I have never spoken back to my mom in any way, ever, over my lifetime. My reaction on that day was not only a surprise to her, but to me also. I ended my spout with, "Mother, I'm going to go away for awhile and do some thinking." Turned around and walked out the door. I didn't go back for over a week. I decided I was NOT going to be treated that way, no matter how badly she was feeling. I have been her strongest ally... but that's not the reason I deserve more respect. I deserve respect because I am a human being. Much more to the story, but I think you'll get the gist of what happened.
She has never been diagnosed as having Alz... just as having Alz sypmtoms and those are very slight. On some days, I count our blessings for that, then on other days I wonder if things might be easier if that were her disease.
Oh well, one of my five sisters, my youngest brother, my husband and I took her to have dinner at Golden Corral this evening. She really enjoyed herself, because it's the first she's been able to be with that one of my two brothers for over two months. She held onto him and didn't want to let go when we were trying to get her back into the car. So sweet, but yet so sad.