“Today is a good day. I like it here.”
Harlan: “Sometimes with my problem…this is the problem I have…what is it honey?”
Marlene tenderly responded: “You have dementia.”
Harlan: “Yes, I have dementia. I can’t get things out…Some days are good. Some are bad.”
Harlan looked toward his beloved wife and added: “Today is a good day. I like it here.”
While reminiscing at Memory Café about favorite school memories, in the comfort of friends who aren’t rushing or correcting him, Harlan shared the story of when he saw his future bride for the first time.
“I saw her across the band room, she was over there, and I was over here…and I thought, “WO!”.
All the memory café friends joined him in laughter. We asked Marlene if she thought the same thing. Her attempt at a diplomatic response brought even more laughter: “No, not really.” Despite Harlan’s aphasia, he quickly came back in jest with, “and it’s been like that for a long time!”