We’re coming up on three months since our move across the country.

For the most part, Jim has not regained much of his short term memory after the decline, I’d hoped, was due to the stress from packing up the old house and settling into the new one.

Today though, he surprised me by telling the homecare worker how many times she’d been to stay with him while I went out. He was close, it’s been six times instead of his guess of four, but considering he usually doesn’t remember she exists after she leaves, it was shocking. While we ate lunch, he asked how much I had to pay to have her stay with him.

So, on some level he understands she’s there to look after him the same way he’d arranged for someone to look after his mother after it was no longer safe for her to be alone while he was at work.

Happily, he’s not resentful. He is still very vocal about recognizing all I do for him.

This is a huge relief. As I said before, Jim was a leader. He was in charge of twelve people in a high stakes profession. He could so easily have become angry and resentful about his failing health and the necessary care.

After lunch, he’d forgotten about the home care worker again. It was as if she hadn’t spent the entire morning chatting with him.