Thanksgiving has come and gone but not without a brief adventure into my grandmas world for a few hours...
Since I was the closest, I voluntered to pick up my 92 year grandmother from senior camp. Apparently the rules are quite simple - sign on the dotted line taking all responsibility for the time the person is outside the walls of china under penalty of beheading. What was I to do? I signed. In her room she looked up and said "who are you?" and seconds later she called me by my dads name, then a second after that she said "I know who you are, you're Carl." Not too shabby for 92, ya think?
Now the interrogation truly began in earnest. "Where are you taking me. I don't want to go. They're killing her." "Her" is my mom which we were on our way to meet at this restaurant called Cocos. I explained gently, "we're going to meet mom for lunch" to which she replied "where are we going? They're killing her." So, for the next 20 minutes or so during the travel there I fended questions of a similiar nature.
Upon arriving, my mom and brothers were waiting outside. "Oh, you're ok" my grandma said to my mom. "They said you had been killed". My grandma stuck to my mom like superglue to a hardhat for the duration of our lunch. I think she was worried something might happen at any moment.
When it was time to leave, grandma began the inquisition again. "Where are you taking me?" she asked. After convincing her we were all going to meet back at senior camp, including my brothers, she calmed down. Once inside things rapidly went down a paranoid conspiracy spiral. "Don't go in the bathroom" she said to my mom. "Something bad will happen" Whenever my mom left, grams would follow to make sure the bathroom was not her objective.
Even with the dementia, some moments had a crystal clarity to it. She would be her old self. Now, we're beginning to plan the great December escape. Who knows who'll be killing who in the next episode of:
"GRANDMA TAKES A HOLIDAY"
http://www.grandmatalk.com/article.php?story=20041208123727474