Yesterday my 86-year-old mom (who's had moderate dementia for 7+ years) comes into my bedroom while I am sitting on the bed paying bills. She asks what I am doing, I tell her, and then she leaves and goes to her own room which is, at tops, 10 feet away from our room. Moments later my phone rings. It's my Mom. I half-shout down the hall in her direction, "MOM, YOU'RE CALLING ME BY MISTAKE!" She says, "Oh, sorry, never mind." I hang up. Ten seconds later, my phone chimes. I have a voicemail. "Hi honey, it's your mom. Just checking in. Give me a call." All that within about a one-minute timespan.
My went to rehab after a stay in a Hospital in the State across the river from us. My daughter thought it would be a good idea to have Mom in her Rehab. Mom would walk the halls looking for my daughter. It came out that she thought she was living in a house with me and daughter. This was when we realized she could not stay in her home alone anymore.
When my Dad needed to have caregivers, he wanted those who had a sense of humor. Then when Dad moved to senior living, he was a joy to take care of as he was so easy going, always smiling, and making people laugh.
Even though Dad has passed on, if something weird happens in the house, I will call out "Dad, stop messing with me" and I start to chuckle.