Parking was awful – naturally. Missy let us out and then did valet parking. I always thought valet parking was for lazy people but believe me it is for Alzheimer’s people too. We had lunch at Maggiano’s. Have you been there? It is wonderful! There is a whole list of classic pastas and when you order one, you get another one free to take home, which makes a 12.00 – 15.00 pasta dish pretty reasonable. We spent about two hours eating and it was great!
James wanted to go to the restroom before we left. The restroom is upstairs. Miss and James started toward the lobby while I finished dealing with the tip and check – tips and checks have become an issue with the advent of Alzheimer’s. We continue to let James pay because he always has but we have to check to make sure he actually leaves a tip. I got to the lobby and there was Missy; she said James had gone down a hall to another restroom on the main floor. We went over to the hostess’ desk and Missy asked if there were some people down that hall that could tell James to come back here in case he got confused. She said there were all kinds of people down there because that hall goes to the mall. I heard Missy say “Oh, hell!” and she took off running. The last time I saw her run that fast she was 10 years old. We got to the men’s restroom just as a man was coming out and Missy grabbed him asked him to go back in and look for James, which he was glad to do but James was coming out about then. (When we got back to Missy’s she was telling Mike about this and when she got to the part about the hall leading to the North Park mall, Mike said “Oh, hell!” Miss said “That’s just what I said”!)
When we left Maggiano’s she and I looked at each other decided to skip the part about walking around the mall and listening to Christmas music. Like she said “He won’t remember it anyway”
Thanks for sharing your story and for your comment on upsidetodementia. It's funny because my husband's favorite thing to do is walk around the mall and listen to the music during the holidays and he's 28!
ReplyDeleteWith Alzheimer's though doesn't every outing become an event of some sort?! Glad that your husband didn't wander too far into the mall. I always worry about letting my Dad go in the bathroom by himself now... or even worse, leaving him alone while I go to the bathroom... sometimes there's only so long you can hold it. :)
You are so right about every outing becoming an event! And I am consoled that your 28 year old husband loves to walk around the mall and listen to Christmas music. Makes me feel better.
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting it makes me feel more connected to the world. Hope your events with your father are all good ones.