That's the Beauty of Alzheimers ...

... everytime he watches it, it's new and exciting.

After supper (where we shared a table with Maurice and Roy), he wanted to go back to his room. It's safe in there. Comfortable.

And, maybe for the first time - a little boring?

"Hey dad? Want to go into the living room with everyone else and watch the news?"

"Yes." He nodded and got up from his chair.

He walked slowly and deliberately over the the TV area and sat in the wingbackchair that I pointed at.

"Do you recognize that guy on TV?" I asked.

"Dave Barrett. That NDP guy," he answered.

"You're right."

"Did he die?"

No. They're just doing a story on him. Hey do you know who that guy is?"

"Jimmy Pattison."

"Right!"

He sits back in his chair and has a slight smile on his face. He doesn't watch the news as much as he watches the other residents.

Didi, the walker, comes by often and puts her face up to mine. I smile and say hi. Roy, on the other hand, shoes her away like she's an annoying fly. I saw that dad watched Roy be impatient with Didi and noticed that something in dad's eyes changed.

He was always the friend of the underdog. If a kid was picked on at school, my dad would make a point of befriending him.

On his first day there, he was afraid of Didi. Today, he seemed OK with her.

Julie says that when she's there, Didi kisses her on her cheek continually.

She was in dad's bathroom, playing with his shaving cream this morning.

"She's nutty, isn't she?" dad observed.

"Do you want me to ask her to leave? Then lock the door?" Jule asked.

"Nah. She's got a few bricks loose, but she's OK."

Mona, the screamer, is in fine form, yelling at everyone at the top of her lungs. She is about 4 and a half feet tall, has white hair, one tooth, and an attiude.

She let everyone and their dog know that she did not want to get into her pajamas. When they changed her, she screeched like she was being tortured. When they returned her to the common area, they set her up at the far end of the dining area with a magazine, a doll and a stuffed animal.

And still she yelled.

This is not a happy woman.

Dad watched closely.

As I was leaving, I asked him if I should bring 'knip spratt' - a table top flicking game - for us to play in the dining area.

"Yes," he nodded.

Maybe his new friends Maurice and Roy will want to play too.

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Books

2. Bubble Baths

3. Blogs

Shalom,