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I had already taken Mom to see her general practitioner, but after six months of uncertainty and confusion about Mom’s behavior, it was time to see a neurologist. I needed a specialist to tell me what was going on with Mom’s brain.

I couldn’t believe what I saw. A notation for $2,000 paid to a gardener and it was a name I didn’t recognize. He was not Mom’s gardener. Mom’s finances were out of control.

“Mom, what is that noise? Is that barking?” My heart sank. She was so excited. She told me she went down to the local pet store and bought a puppy.

Your loved one is repeating the same things over and over, misplacing items or getting lost in familiar places. You know something isn’t right.

Mom loved our cats. I confess that my husband has turned me into a cat lady and at one point, we had four Siamese. As you might know, many Siamese cats talk constantly, demand attention and can behave similarly to dogs.

After being the target of Mom’s hamburger as described in my last blog, I decided to drive to the nearest bookstore to see if I could research what was happening.

After years of experience caring for a person who has Alzheimer’s, you can predict certain behaviors. But in the beginning, before you really know what is wrong, your best quality may be your sense of humor.

I always knew there were some things about my parent’s lives that were none of my business, like how much money Dad made or how their money was spent. Nine years ago, I had to learn that sometimes you have to put the past behind and get a grip on what is currently happening.

When I was growing up, Betty and her family lived right across the street and our families were always the best of friends. We would run over to say a quick hello or borrow some sugar for making a pie.

Our journey through Alzheimer’s disease began thirteen years ago. Our family knew nothing about this disease. A new path for Mom was ahead of her and ahead of us.