Famous last words…at least for mom are the words, “I forgot”.  Sometimes I want to be sarcastic and say, “Of course you forgot!  You have dementia!”.  But that would be cruel because she would not understand the unkindness and it would make me look like a heartless person.  I almost did not post today except I had made an effort to fill the time only for her to say to me a little bit ago, “I took a shower and spent all my time upstairs.”

Well, that was untrue.  Today was baking day.  Actually for mom it was a day of excitement because “we” created lots and lots of dirty dishes and she spent much of her time happily playing in the sink.  She was helpful in grating all the zucchini and carrots for our bread, but the best thing for her was the ever growing pile in the sink.  She was chomping at the bit to get to them and took a protective stance in front of the sink once she got there.  Her obsession with water is a curious thing to me because I never really thought of her as enjoying doing the dishes in the lifetime of memories that is now locked up beyond the grey eyes.

I suppose I need to be happy in this – that I am making memories with my mom for me.  Wow, that is a heavy statement.  She is right – she took a shower, but she did not stay upstairs.  She had come downstairs all giddy about her new shirt.  She had “found” all her new things in her closet and tried them on, modeling them in front of the mirror because she wanted to know how she looked in them.  (I forgot to mention that mom is a little vain – she does look awesome for all her 84 years!)  She then put on one of her new shoes and declared how pretty they were.  But, quick as the delight wore off, she was back in her comfy regular outfit and ready to grate zucchini and carrots with me.

All in all, the bread turned out quite nice.  I was happy except no matter what I concoct for an activity, she really only finds delight in the routine.  So, for the time that it was, baking day was a success.

P.S.  The breads are “healthy” adaptations of recipes I found online.  I used applesauce instead of oil and cut any sugar portions in half .  Of course, I plan on slathering our slices with butter or cream cheese but isn’t that the yummy part anyway?