I feel I’m doing everything wrong. Mom and Dad are 91 & 93. Yes, their memories are fading. The big event this year was a fire, smoke damage. We evacuated safely, moved into an apartment, and I had to list the things in the house the parents wanted to save. We made a list and while the house was restored (Mom and Dad want to live their final years there) we would go by every day and Mom would ask what happened to…..certain pictures, furniture, jewelry etc…it has been difficult, but now I mention fire and Mom understands. Dad on the other hand is a writer and worked on the computer, but now he is forgetting the simplest of tasks. After a hip fracture 2 months before the fire, the heal ulcer, and anxiety (COVID, finances) he is writing again but forgets the simplest of tasks. Is it the beginning of dementia? I am not dealing with this very well and feel I’m saying the wrong things. We are back in the house, and mom continues to miss things. Dad is writing but occasionally forgets how to insert a picture in his column for the local weekly paper. Thankfully they are asking him to write a column every two weeks instead of weekly as before. If there’s a glitch/change due to an update he panics and asks for help. It can be overwhelming for my brother and I. Dad gets frustrated and lashes out when I can’t help because I’m helping Mom. I feel I’ve exacerbated the problem with my thoughtless comments…don’t you remember, you forgot, I wrote the steps down, let me make a note for you…. my parents have been through a lot in the VM last 12 weeks (hip fracture Jan 4th, fire Feb. 26, house restoration complete Jun 18th, COVID shelter in place mid-March, and palliative care began a few weeks before the fire!

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