"The Supermarket Encounter: A Lesson in Patience and Perspective"

My brother and I took Mum to the supermarket this day, something we could do weekly with her until very recently due to her becoming overwhelmed in busy environments.

With Alzheimer's, a person living with the condition can start having trouble recognising people's faces. In Mum's case, it went a step further; she thought she knew everyone, even complete strangers! Yes, she believed she had known them for years.

We hadn't been in the supermarket for five minutes when she spotted an elderly gentleman with his wife. She proceeded to walk up to him, caress his face with her hand, and told him how much she loved him. We knew this was a very innocent mistake, but his wife felt rather differently, shall we say.

My brother quickly approached Mum, apologised to the gentleman's wife for the awkward encounter, and quietly explained that Mum has Alzheimer's and did not know her husband at all.

The husband held a different perspective from his wife and tried to play along with Mum in a familiar manner, saying something like, "Oh, it's lovely to see you again! How are you?" as he took her hand. He must have understood the situation. However, I couldn't help but notice how his wife continued to keep a watchful eye on my Mum, despite now knowing that she has Alzheimer's. The encounter was over in minutes, and we continued with our weekly shop.

Although we laugh about it now, at the time we found ourselves in a position of 'what do we do?'. I guess the lesson here is to have patience; not everything is what it seems.