There's a Police Car in our Driveway!

So Tracy took me to the eye doctor yesterday. We were gone about three hours. When we got home, it was about 4:30 and there was a police car in our driveway. We walked around to the back of the house, where Blanche's entrance is, and there they were up on the porch, Blanche and one of Seymour's finest. The police officer was taking the screen off of the kitchen window to Blanche's apartment and Blanche was standing there clutching her telephone. She had locked herself out of the house! We don't know how long she had been outside and fortunately it was not cold yesterday.

I asked the officer who had called him and his answer wasn't quite clear. I think he said the lady next door had come over to help Blanche and that the neighbor had probably made the call. I highly doubt Blanche could have made it. So Tracy explained to the officer that her mother has Alzheimer's and he asked if she is registered with the Seymour Police Department. Since we had no idea there was such a program, we said no, but we'll get her registered as soon as possible. It's amazing how easy it is to learn about programs and things available for people with Alzheimer's. I'm being sarcastic here because it's amazing how much caregivers can learn AFTER something bad happens. Oh well.

So after we get Blanche safe and sound back in the house, she spends the next two hours during and after dinner asking Tracy where she was going to sleep that night. I have learned that a rational human being can answer the same question calmly maybe three times maximum. After that, it's going to get ugly!

Tonight, I was by myself with Blanche. The caregiver was with her from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. At around 3, Blanche started pounding on the new door we put up between her apartment and our house. I hang a sign on that door which is a note to Blanche, which tells her that I am working and she should not bang on the door until after 5 p.m. The sign works great (again, sarcasm). So I just continue to work and fortunately, the pounding is periodic. It only happens every 8 or 9 minutes from around 3 p.m. until I open the door when I am done working for the day. The problem is that I work upstairs in my office and Blanche cannot be left alone downstairs in our house because she does odd things. She feeds the dogs people food, she feeds the cats dog food, she puts things where we are sure to never find them, she goes through (and takes) our mail, and the list goes on and on. As harsh as it may sound, that is why she is locked out of our house during the day.

One more thing about today. After the second round of very loud banging, my phone started to ring. It was Blanche! So she can use the phone, which I don't know if that's good or bad. Anyway, she asks for Tracy and I say it's JoAnn. She asks me when I'm coming home. I tell her that I'll be done working at 5 p.m. and that she can come over then. So she asks me where I am now and where I'll be coming from. I try for the next 10 minutes to explain but it is to no avail. So I finally settle for telling her that we are having dinner at 5 p.m. and I'll come to get her so she shouldn't worry. I told her that I know how to get to her house and that seems to satisfy her.

We hang up the phone and 8 minutes later, she is pounding on the door downstairs again...take two Excedrin and repeat tomorrow...