I really think my mother has the onset of dementia. However it's not showing up as typical forgetfulness. There were a serious of behaviours that were odd-ish over the past 18 months and then I started connecting these bits up and thinking if something like dementia is brewing with her.
It's shining through again some more over the past few weeks. There's poo organising skills. We have family living abroad and we usually send a parcel for abroad. The cut off point will be about the 3rd of December for last posting days. My mother had 2 shopping days in the city and she wasn't able to find anything and even not there is nothing done. She knows Christmas is coming but she's just not quite there regarding the parcel that has to go in the mail. She not able to connect the dates any more either. She says Christmas is 5 weeks away but the parcel is fine for now completely forgetting about the journey it has to take across the world.
I think she is hoping to go into town this week and she mentioned elf on the shelf stuff and the pounds hop elfs and accessories but she already sent them last year and the year before. That stuff was done before. For the adults she wants to go into the souvenir shops and get souvenirs but that stuff was done before too.
I went shopping at the weekend. I travelled to a bigger city with better shops and I got things done. My mother doesn't travel well. I invited her to come with me but she doesn't travel well so she stayed at home. I got things done at the weekend. I suggested making things easier for her and suggested sending a joint parcel in that we can put both of our names on the parcel but she's complaining about that. I suggested that she can help herself to everything that I got and she can put her own name to things especially for the child but she's still complaining. She wants to get her own gifts for the child.
I went shopping at the weekend to help her. We are in a hopeless situation. She doesn't know what to get. I helped her and all she can do is turn her nose up at it all. Thing is I bought loads and she said 'sure that stuff is all from you'.
I wont be able to stick my name to it all. Its too much. My plan was to help her and get things done.
We can't send cash. We can't shop online in their home country because the online shopping there is weaker and my mother doesn't know what she wants to get or what to look at.
We shopped online before about 18 months ago for a birthday. Looking back I think there was something there about the possibility of a dementia but I didn't see it at the time. Basically she found some teddies that she liked. Those plushie teddies. She had no control and wanted so much - a tiger, a Swan, etc and in the end there was about at least 10 different teddies in the order. Looking back it was too excessive and too much. One or two or three would have been more than enough. She had other gifts too in the basket. I think maybe that's something else in that she felt overwhelmed and didn't know what to get and had no control and added in more and more.
I am in a position where I can see now, a lot of the time my mother is ok in herself but she definitely doesn't have the capacity any more to organise Christmas gifts/parcels but she still wants to maintain control over it all too.