When my wife is lucid she tries to catch me out over her poor memory.  She will even set little traps and then say: ‘ can’t you take a joke any more?’  It’s hard enough trying to deal with dementia but when your loved one has high intellect you are in trouble.

This morning before she came round confusion is abound: this is not our house.  She is complaining about being kept in bed and given tea, as it is all part of a plot to keep her here.  Someone has stolen her dressing gown as it is not where she left it.  Nothing is making any sense to her.

An hour later things are almost back to her being completely lucid.  She is joking about the measures she is planning tonight to catch the ‘thieves in the act’.  She often laughs at some of the things she has said to me when she has been ‘acting out of character’.  I think her favourite its claiming that: ‘I only told her we were married so I could get in bed with her’.

A sense of humour is essential when dementia  is the elephant in the room.   It is not funny to have the beast here but we do our best to laugh together whenever we can.   My wife is singing her heart out now  – ‘Singing in the Rain’ and I have no idea what has tickled her fancy and  hope she doesn’t bring on a storm.  Wow: it’s clouding over – perhaps she’s had a premonition!