Jim’s birthday was last week and it nearly broke my heart. (I guess I’ll need to get used to having almost everything breaking my heart a little more each time.)

There wasn’t a moment of independent recognition of it being his birthday. Once he got settled in the morning, I brought in the cards and gifts sent by family. He opened them and understood why he got them, but within minutes was asking me where this stuff (gifts) came from.

One of his kids called during the morning and they spoke for about ten minutes. An hour later he was asking me if I’d heard from that same offspring lately. Another did a video call that night surrounded by their children and grandchildren. He remembered that conversation happened for longer (likely because of it being video), but still had no recollection of what was said, or who participated.

Later in the evening, I received an email from his late-wife’s sisters, also wishing him a happy birthday. I had to remind him who they were. It took a few minutes, but then he was fine and spent the next several minutes telling me about them.

It was a good memory exercise for him. I find that his memory/knowledge is like a pump that needs to be primed. Once you remind him of something, he can tell you all about it. Then his memory dries up until you prime it by reminding him again.