Cheryl will start to tell a story about an incident that occurred earlier to me as though I am someone else. In the story she will refer to me in the third person as “your dad.” I think that she thinks I am one of our children but I could merely be a nice someone with her because sometimes she refers to me as “Paul.”

I used to resist this a bit and point out that I was me. Lately I quit doing that. I quit doing it because it aids me in finding where she is in her head and it serves no useful purpose other than to make me right and her wrong.

Typically it is a late afternoon discussion as we head somewhere for dinner. In the car she will start with, ” you know your dad and I …” After she gets her thought out I can respond with, “No kidding, I didn’t know that” or some other suitably benign response. If there is more to the story she will go on.

There is so much to learn on this road of Parkinson. If you have not tried it, take a deep breath, enjoy the ride, the scenery and the stories along the way. You cannot be sure of the weather, road conditions or the vistas ahead. Be one with the journey.

Carpe Diem.