The next morning after a great night’s sleep, he woke around eight, feeling energized and hungry. It was a beautiful day and he’d brought his running shoes. A run down to the beach and back after he ate a light breakfast seemed like a good plan. He dressed and went down to the kitchen where his mother was sitting at the kitchen island, reading the paper and drinking a cup of coffee. She looked up and smiled. “Hi, honey. There’s coffee made if you want to help yourself. I could make you an omelet if you like. Your usual tomato and onion?”

David smiled. That was his father’s usual breakfast. “No thanks. I thought I’d have a quick bowl of oatmeal and some coffee before I go out for a run.”

“But you can’t run, honey. What about your knee? You know the doctor said that wasn’t a good idea since you had the surgery.”

David just stared at his mother in confusion. His knees were fine. But ten years ago, his father had both knees replaced. What should he do? Should he correct her? Before he could say anything, his father walked into the room, saw David’s face and glanced at his mother. “How’s everyone doing this morning?”

A pained look crossed his mother’s face for a moment before she smiled and glanced at David. “You look like you’re dressed for a run. That’s a great idea. It looks lovely outside today.”

Later that afternoon, while his mother was taking a nap, David sat down in the kitchen with his father. He’d never known his mother to nap. She was only in her late sixties.

“What do the doctors say?” David asked.

“We just had a battery of tests done at Mass General. We flew into Boston and spent the night there the day before. Had a lovely dinner in the North End and then met with her doctors the next day. It’s officially Alzheimer’s.”

His mother had Alzheimer’s.

“What exactly does that mean? Are there different degrees of it? And does she know?”

“She knows. Sort of. She was right there with me when the doctors went over everything. I’m not sure she’s really processed it though. But I think on some level, she knows something is wrong. Sometimes when she forgets something a look crosses her face that is heartbreaking. She looks afraid. Imagine knowing that your mind is going? How do you deal with that?”

“How are you dealing with it?” David asked. He was worried for his father as well as his mother. He’d never seen his father so stressed.

“I’m not going to lie to you. It’s been hard. Really hard. I think we might have some difficult decisions to make soon.”

“What are you thinking?”