Adventures in Alzheimers: Crickets Make Great Pets

When Mike has to go out of town on business it's usually for a week and it always means several things: 1. I have to remember to feed and water the animals. (God help me) . 2. I go to sleep with several lights on in the house all night, so any intruders will think the fully armed occupant inside is also an insomniac.  3. I  have full Grampy Duty. That means a daily visit to see him, taking him shopping, making sure he's taking his pills, listening to his same old stories again. And again.  Etc.

Grampy's Pet Cricket

So Friday I stopped by after work. He started in complaining about a cricket that had moved in. "Ever since you and Mike put in this new carpet, a cricket has been living here!  I've looked high and low and I can't find the damn thing!"  I'm used to his fantasies so I quickly changed the subject. I randomly inquired as to the date of one of the photos on the wall of mom. ". That's another thing " he went on complaining, "where the hell IS mom? I haven't seen her in years!" "Um. Yeah....." I said "dad she died". He  looked off into the distance for a minute then said " yeah, that's right. 1997 she died." Correct., dad. Then, rather excitedly he added "But she left me years before that and moved back into that house on Avenue A. Well, we had some good years together and I guess that's that. "  OK none of that is true but we don't quibble over the past. We let him believe whatever he wants. No harm, no foul. By tomorrow he'll believe she joined a Romanian circus and took up with the tattooed man. 

So we were talking and reminiscing about his delusional past and all of a sudden I heard it. The cricket!  "See?" He looked hard at me and ground his dentures for a second then whispered "There's my little cricket,"  Well I have been on the receiving end of this particular cricket before and it was clearly the chirp of a dying battery from a smoke alarm. I glanced at the alarm in the hallway (which was brand new) then decided to do what I usually do, tell Mike and make him fix it. Mike was out of town so my son Shane is next in line and always willing to help but he was working. My son in law Paul was in town and he came over to help. Kate my 14 year old granddaughter was with him. Grampy has known Paul for 20 years, nevertheless I introduced him to both Paul and Kate. He shook Paul's hand with a "pleased to meet ya", then, after a minute recognized him, but had no idea who Kate was. (He later asked me who that nice young married couple were that had come to visit. I told him they were the king and queen of Romania. No harm. No foul. )

Grampy told Paul all about the cricket. "yeah" he said " Ever since mama left, it's just me living in this little house. Me and that damn cricket. I yell at him to get out from time to time. I tell him he's not welcome here! But he's still here keeping me company. Just me and that cricket. "  By the time Grampy was done with his story, Paul had located and replaced the faulty battery. Problem solved. Chirping over. Cricket dead. So Now  it's just Grampy in that house. Just Grampy all alone again... 

I'm thinking about putting that battery back in.

#alzheimersfunny #dementiafunny #grandpaalzheimers