“This is supposed to be the time of my life – the nest is empty; but now Mom needs me.”

‘Tis the season to be jolly! Yes, the holidays are upon us and the decorations are going up! Mom has two little Christmas trees that she’s had forever – one that is “her’s” with decorations that relate to her years of travel with my dad, and one that is “his” (my dad’s) with decorations that relate to him from their travels. There are some really cool items on those trees, that’s for sure.

I got the trees out and placed them in her living room for her to enjoy. She asked me how they got so small  (what?) and wondered where all the ornaments went (what?).  I guess for some reason she thinks someone stole some ornaments – possibly during the move?  During my research on the elderly I’ve read that thinking things are missing or being stolen is a common occurrence. It’s really difficult to trying to explain to my mom that nothing is missing – she just doesn’t believe me. She also thinks the caregivers are taking her pencils – I’m not sure how she’d think that considering she has a million pencils lying around all over the house.

So the other day our son stops by my mom’s to bring her some gingerbread creations that he had made for her – a gingerbread Christmas tree and four gingerbread houses.  He sets them down on her cabinet beside her tree and arranges them like a little town for her (he’s so sweet!). She is so happy to have them and gives our son a big hug. Then she asks him, “When can we eat them?”  We explained that they are just decoration and not edible. She seemed disappointed but still appreciative.

Later that night when I went over to check on her before bed she was still going on about how great the gingerbread ornaments are and how wonderful her grandson is. We chatted for a bit and I did my usual routine of checking to make sure she was situated for the night. On my way out she calls to me and asks, “When were we going to eat the gingerbread house again?”

I’m afraid when I go over there tomorrow the gingerbread tree and houses will be gone! Uh oh!

What I Learned: Be careful what you bring into the house – you can’t be sure what the mind is thinking.