She will tell me about a movie she watched and say "and I was right there". I'll say "you were so interested in the movie that you felt like you were part of it?" We look at a picture book and she points and says "that's me" in a group of people but it's not. I usually say "well that lady does look like you mom but that's (whoever it is)." She'll say "oh ok." She'll tell me a story of when I was little and she talks ABOUT me TO me...and then she says "(my name) did this". I'll say "do you mean I did that?" And she'll say yes, or she might say "no, the other one" meaning my sister. We go out to lunch and she'll say "there's that same guy we always see" and it's a stranger. I just say "yep". It's not really a problem, but it's just so curious to me. What's that about?
I've had to try to get my sister to understand that the conversation with our mom (mild cognitive decline) is going to be, IMHO, boring and repetitive and sometimes filled with strange statements and confabulations. It's just the way it is.
It may may be a bit frustrating to you but I gotta say I think it’s kinda sweet and charming. But then again my perspective is colored by the fact that I got to listen to my mom completely whitewash and reinvent every nasty thing she ever did - many to my brothers, my father and
myself - often painting herself as
the innocent angel and another family member perpetuating what she in fact, had done. Now that’s frustrating!
Listen to the stories, ask questions and enjoy your chat.
If you continue to correct her she may feel bad and stop telling stories, or even talking completely for fear that she may make a mistake.
You might even find out new things that you did not know. And a story about you with a different perspective might be enlightening.
And if she thinks she was in a movie..ask her about it.
As long as none of this frightens her go with the flow...
I am absolutely fascinated with our brains and how they work. When not frustrated, that is.