One of my favorite nonnos of all time passed last week. He was hands down the most spirited, loyal, fun-loving resident I’ve had the pleasure of serving, and he adored his wife. No matter the circumstance, he’d support her blindly. They’d dance to any song and, if separated, he was beside himself. During a brief stint in the hospital (for her), he sat in the lobby from morning until night awaiting her return. Literally, he didn’t move (except to yell into my office every hour for an update).

My “boyfriend” was also extremely headstrong, and he and his beautiful wife both lived with dementia. When she had an idea in her head, she’d rile him up and they would fixate on it. Dementia is so f’ing weird – they’d forget that they ate breakfast but despite my prayers and redirection, they’d remember every detail of these delusions. I’m cracking up at the thought and at the memory of them standing in my office, him raising his voice (& sometimes his middle finger) and her egging him on.

One of my favorite stories of Mr. & Mrs. M came to be fondly referred to as “Operation Green Sheets”. One morning, they came to alert me of a probable theft: their daughter-in-law had bought them a set of green sheets, which were now missing. Thankfully, I had a great relationship with their two sons, who were insanely understanding and supportive. I know it’s horrible to say (but I always say it anyway) – I’ve seen a lot of amazing, involved daughters, but those really good, patient, helpful sons.. they’re a dime a dozen (sorry, boys). These two are exceptional. A quick text confirmed there was not, in fact, a green sheets delivery. We laughed it off, reassured them that they were in the laundry, and hoped they’d be forgotten by morning.

To our disappointment, these were the most memorable made-up sheets in the history of fake bedding. A few days passed with constant calls, visits, and middle fingers. I was out of excuses and there was no appeasing them. I sent the boys two shades of green and by the grace of God, they picked the right color – they arrived via Amazon Prime the next morning and when delivered, my loves shouted in unison, “That’s them!”. Crisis averted, and this time without the help of the police (I’ll save that story for another post 😉).

I was only lucky enough to spend a brief time with Mr. M. However, I don’t need to have known him forever to be certain the world will be a duller place without him. I will be always grateful for his lessons, laughs, love, and even middle fingers. May he rest in the sweetest peace. ❤