Over the last year my father-in-law, or Otosan as we call him, has adjusted well to his new home with us. He is a smart, do-it-yourself kind of guy. However, he is challenged by Alzheimer’s and sometimes things don’t connect in his brain in the same way they used to. There are some things that…

Growing up and living in a rural part of Japan where most buildings are only 2-3 stories, my father-in-law rarely used an elevator. Now he uses one everyday. I should be celebrating… This man whose brain is befuddled with Alzheimer’s is successfully getting where he wants to go. Instead, everything in me wants to correct…

The first time I had to to tell someone they needed a bath, I was mortified. I had to do it again recently and it was much easier. In high school, my mom and I lived in a big, two-story house built in the 1920s. It was huge and there were more rooms than we…

I head down the hall towards the kitchen and see two ugly feet. They are my father-in-law’s feet. Because of the layout of the living room and where he lounges on a cushion on the floor, his body is blocked by the counter. All I see are his feet – no body, just feet. I…

A few months ago a shift occurred in the way I think of my father-in-law. I was ironing a pile of shirts and fretting over everything to do before my trip home when my sister called. I was on edge because I had this project to finish, that email to write, this thing to buy…

Every few days I get to thinking that perhaps I am overreacting. Perhaps my father-in-law’s behavior is not so unusual. Perhaps he really doesn’t have Alzheimer’s. Never mind that he was diagnosed by a doctor after extensive testing. The thing is, most of our exchanges seem normal and I start to doubt myself. And then,…