Dinner and a Movie

Locally we have a Movie Tavern. This was a new concept for me. The theater has large, plush reclining seats. They are so comfy, you could take a nap! The Movie Tavern provides a nice menu selection of food and beverages. The best way to experience it is to arrive a little early, order from the menu, watch the previews and wait for the movie to start. They bring your food and beverage to you, and if you should need anything else during the movie, you simply press a small button for service. There is a drink holder in the reclining seat and a tray table that swings over your lap to hold your food. I have to say it is quite the experience.

You pay a (large) premium on any food you order. Food quality was pretty good, I'd give it a solid B+. You can order anything from burgers to salmon. We watched the movie Sully. It was great! Very inspiring. Tom Hanks of course, was amazing. At the end of the movie everyone in the audience clapped. It was that kind of movie.

Seats are reserved ahead of time online. I picked two seats with what I thought would be a good vantage point. I noted that there was an empty seat on either side of us. Given the uncertainty of how our lives play out, I thought it would be good to have that extra space as a buffer. I showed Jim the online seating and pointed out our seats, and also mentioned the empty seats on either side of us. He thought that was great.

I should have seen this coming, given that this was such a popular movie. At the last minute, just before the movie started, two women came to our row and asked if we could move down a seat so that they could sit together. Oh no. Jim immediately say "No! we're not moving! These are our seats!" At the exact moment he is saying that I am saying "we don't mind moving down a seat". Jim glares at me. The women say "that's alright, we'll just sit separately, no big deal". As the woman sat next to Jim, he says "you can't sit there! You are not authorized! These seats are supposed to be vacant!"

The woman looked at him in disbelief. She showed him her ticket and at the same time I'm trying to quietly explain to Jim that they purchased these seats. I was so embarrassed. On the way out after the movie, I heard her recounting the experience to her friend. "Can you believe he talked to me that way?"

In the dementia world there is something called the "Oops Card". When something happens in public that is awkward or embarrassing, you surreptitiously hand them an oops card. It explains that the person has dementia etc. I may be close to the point where I need to do something like that.

I went to my Y class this morning. I knew I would be coming home later than usual as I wanted to stop at the grocery store. So I wrote on a piece of paper "Carole will be home at 11:30". While I was gone, by mother called and Jim spoke to her for a few minutes (he actually remembered to tell me this). When I got home, he said he tried to call me to tell me my mom had called, but that he couldn't reach me. My cell phone did not ring while I was gone. Here is how the conversation went:

Me: "What number did you dial when you tried to call me?"

Jim: "xxx-xxxx" (This is our landline)

Me: "No, I don't mean our home phone; what number did you use when you called my cell phone?"

Jim: "xxx-xxxx" (our landline)

Me: "Well, if you need to reach me when I am gone, you need to dial my cell phone number, which is zzz-zzzz"

Jim: "No! I'm not going to do that! I need to be able to dial xxx-xxxx to be able to reach you here!"

By now I am telling myself to just agree, let it go, and move on.

Me:  "OK"

Jim: "A strange old lady answered the phone when I dialed xxx-xxxx" (our land line) 

Me: "Maybe the wires got crossed. Who knows."

Did he confuse talking to my mother with thinking that he had called me, albeit on our landline?

In the future, when I have to leave I will not only write down what time I will return, but also my cell phone number so that he will have that readily available if he needs to call me.

This conversation was one of his most confusing. I'm still not sure exactly what happened while I was gone. It does seem like the confusion is worsening, or at least is more frequent. When I think about the dinner and movie we went to, I should not have set up expectations for a seat on either side of us to be empty. I need to remember that any unexpected change is almost more than he can process and handle.

Oh, it feels so good to be able to write all this down. It really is therapy for me. Thank you dear friends, once again, for listening and caring.