My parents, Jack and Diane, had always seemed like the perfect old-school couple \u2014 Dad cracking firefighter-retired-dad jokes and Mom shushing everyone like she still ran a library. So when they suddenly announced they were getting a divorce, I nearly choked on my coffee. They separated quietly: Dad moved to a sports-themed bachelor pad, and Mom joined a \u201cbook club\u201d that mostly did yoga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Life went on\u2026 until one day Dad showed up at Mom\u2019s door holding flowers, looking confused. \u201cUm, hi, Diane. Do I know you?\u201d Mom squinted back, equally lost. \u201cYou look familiar. Are you selling something?\u201d I stood there like someone watching the weirdest sitcom ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then came the plot twist: they had both been diagnosed with Alzheimer\u2019s \u2014 and neither remembered being married\u2026 or divorced. Suddenly, they were like awkward teenagers rediscovering each other. Dad brought flowers almost daily and Mom alternated between shushing him and staring suspiciously until she remembered who he was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was chaos, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes hilarious. I had to stop Dad from barbecuing in the living room more than once, but seeing them find comfort in each other again \u2014 forgetting the fights, remembering the love \u2014 reminded me that sometimes the heart remembers what the mind forgets. And strangely, in their confusion, they found each other again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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