Pieces seem to be missing

Kathy turns 75 today. She loves jigsaw puzzles, so I had one made for her. A picture of her and her grandkids' dog at the beach, with the date and place printed right on it. This seemed like a good gift for someone who has trouble remembering things.

It was delivered on Saturday afternoon. I know this from USPS tracking. She never mentioned it. In my Facebook "Happy Birthday" post, I asked her if she received it. She hasn't answered.

I bet she forgot ... that she received it, or why I sent it, or who it was from.

I remember the last time I celebrated with her in person, which was three years ago, just before covid.  It was a highly disturbing day. I recall sitting in her living room and giving her a gift, a photo of her with little great grandchild. She seemed happy with it and displayed it on her bookshelf. Then she got up to get me a tangerine. She brought it back into the room, saw the wrapping paper on her coffee table, and said, "Did you give a me a present?"

That was three years ago. Her cognitive decline is three years worse. To my knowledge, she has still refused to see a doctor regarding this. She had an appointment for a check up in April 2020, but it was cancelled because of covid. I don't think she ever rescheduled it. She gets very angry when you mention her memory to her.

Kathy isn't my only friend with cognitive issues. My friend Henry is declining fast, too, the result of a traumatic brain injury.

Suddenly my bad teeth don't seem like the worst problem in the word.

Photo by Ryoji Iwata on Unsplash