"I took an early retirement to be with Dorothy and do all the traveling we had planned to do during our marriage. It was shortly after my retirement that I realized Dorothy was in deep trouble. Her mother had had Alzheimer’s, her sister was already showing signs of the disease and now Dorothy was showing similar signs. For several years after her diagnosis I continued to take Dorothy, and on occasion her sister as well, across country to visit family and friends in our RV.

I remember one incident in particular. I had driven up to our motel room after a long day on the road. After putting our bags in the room, (I always insisted on a ground floor room located near access doors,) I helped Dorothy out of the car and directed her to the door of our room. Much to my surprise she stopped in her tracks, began to glare at me and remarked that she was not ‘that kind of girl’. I just stood there wondering what to do next.  Finally, I drove Dorothy to the front of the motel where the restaurant was, took her in to eat dinner and wound through the inside of the motel to the room after we finished eating. By then, Dorothy had re-established her link with me, she entered the room without incident and I had avoided any confrontation with her in the process.

I think it is also prudent to mention that one of the group members remarked as I finished this story … 

"I guess she was ‘that kind of girl,’ after all." 

Needless to say we all had a good laugh while I acknowledged how familiar insanity had become in our lives."

John Raposa.

~*~