16 Weeks

Today is mom’s AL Community’s Thanksgiving dinner. I haven’t seen mom in 16 weeks. She hasn’t left voice mail for 13.5 weeks. I called her last night (feeling a bit of trepidation), to ‘remind’ her that we’d be joining her for dinner today, and she sounded great! Her only concern, voiced casually, was that this was the community’s meal, not a family gathering, although she didn’t actually express herself that clearly. I assured her she was right. She didn’t ask what we were doing for actual Thanksgiving. We agreed where to meet and at what time, and cheerfully rang off. It took me a minute to pick my jaw up off the floor. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and dementia helps you forget why you’re pissed at your kid.