It's always the little things

I think I may have said this before but in my experience strategies are the most important things when dealing with dementia.  Having a game plan and following it through with relentless determination has made all the difference to our lives and we are now at the point where it all seems so manageable that it's sometimes difficult to remember when things were different.  We bimble along then in a  (mostly) amicable way and just get on with life in general.  However it's always the little things that catch me out and make me realise all over again how much things have changed.  Last night I wanted to watch 'Love it or List it' on the television and, as Ash didn't mind, on it went.  For years and years he has started every programme headed up by or including Kirsty Allsop with the question 'what is she wearing this time?' and it's become a standing joke.  Last night that question didn't come so I said instead 'what is she wearing this time?'.  Ash's reply?  There wasn't one.  He had no idea what I was talking about.  This came as a bit of a shock and I understood all over again that the strategies make life bearable but the dementia is not only still with us but is creeping silently onwards almost unnoticed.  The trick is to recognise what's happening but not let it define our lives.

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