When I picked up Gramps for work yesterday morning, the housekeeper was at his house slaving away.
My mom always leaves the housekeeper’s pay on the kitchen table in the morning before leaving for work. So when the housekeeper called her that afternoon saying the money wasn’t there, my mom fingered the culprit right away–Gramps.
My mom called and said “Will you see if Gramps has a hundred dollar bill in his wallet?”
So I asked him.
“Yep,” he said.
“Gramps that wasn’t your money,” I said. “That was for the cleaning lady.”
“I know,” he said. “But we shouldn’t be paying her that much. I’ll clean the house.” Evidently the fact that the housekeeper was already hard at work earning her pay when he made this decision escaped him.
Anyway, I told Gramps that he had to give the money back to my mom that night. He agreed.
At lunch time, Gramps tried to buy me lunch with the $100 bill. “That’s not yours,” I explained to him.
“I know,” he said. Evidently the fact that he shouldn’t be spending money he knew wasn’t his, escaped him as well.
At home that night, my mom asked Gramps for the $100. He in turn gave her a one-dollar bill.
Sometimes I wonder if this Alzheimer’s thing is real, or if Gramps just found a way to make a quick buck.
Alzheimer’s Fact: Communicating with Alzheimer’s Patients–Simplify each task into single steps. Use simple words and short sentences to convey your message. Do not overwhelm the person with a string of instructions. If a person has difficulty hearing, lower the pitch of your voice rather than increasing the volume.
