This parent-care journey is filled with laughter and tears. I know you all understand this. My mom's short-term memory has skipped town. She and I know it. She compensates by leaving little notes around her room (assisted living) with bits of things she wants to tell me and needs from the store.
One day, I found a note written in shorthand. Mom was a business ed. teacher back in the day of dictaphones, electric typewriters, and shorthand.
"Mom, you'll have to translate this for me. I never took shorthand."
"Oh, honey. That note's not for you," she said.
"Um...what is it, if you don't mind me asking?"
She said, "Since my memory is not so good, I often forget things I need to stay fussed up about. So, I've taken to writing them down."
I smiled. "So, this is a list of things to stay mad about?"
"Yes. Some things you just need to stay upset over."

Well...there you have it. I have to add -- Mom watches a lot of CNN, so a number of things on the list are probably world issues. I didn't ask her to translate the list, just in case I was on it somewhere. A woman has to have some secrets, after all...