bridges

Mum rang me this evening for me to help her with her remote control - It took about an hour to sort out what she was doing wrong and by the end she was obviously embarrassed, because she tried to change the subject with:

"....anyway, I'll let you get back to settling in after your 3 weeks away."
"Mum, I wasn't away for 3 weeks"
"Oh, that's right, you didn't go anywhere in the end, did you?"
"No, Mum, that's not right"
"Oh yes, you just went for one day - how was it?"
"Mum, I was away for a week"

This is all despite the fact that I sent her a letter tersely listing where I was going and between which dates. I mention this letter to her and she says "I DID so much enjoy reading it - it was so beautifully written, I thought".

I'm convinced that when she encounters a gap in her memory, she 'invents' an explanation or bridge, and she's not quite aware that she's doing this. She often talks to me about conversations we've never had, about things we've never done.