Day Fourteen: The Fly

A picture of a fly from the National Geographic website. I thought it was an
appropriate image for this blog entry.

My Dad can sometimes say ridiculous things, but this one really had me shaking my head.


Apparently, he is not getting enough sleep. This is completely normal under the circumstances and I am sympathetic to his plight. But over lunch at his apartment yesterday, he told me that my Mom visits him, and this was the reason for his sleepless nights.

I was a little freaked out by his admission. Before she died, my Mom was worried that Dad was showing signs of dementia. Being married to the same person for over 45 years, I understood how they could both worry about each other's failing health, but they could also get on each other's nerves. Sometimes I would tell Mom that she was blowing things out of proportion, that a little forgetfulness was certainly not dementia. And that maybe she was just looking for another reason to call Dad crazy.

But this? My Dad was having hallucinations about my Mom? Sirens were going off in my head.

I immediately apologized to her. Egads, woman! You were right all along. Mom, how could I have doubted you.  I was dialing my sister's phone number when Dad opened up his mouth to explain further. And after he spoke, I kind of sat there in disbelief.

Dad claims that Mom is a FLY that has been trapped inside his apartment the last few weeks. And late at night she buzzes around his bed, annoying him, and keeping him from getting any sleep.

A fly? Really? Mom is a fly? I'd like to think that she came back as a higher form of life. And I found myself wishing that he did have hallucinations of Mom instead of thinking she was a fly, so I could resist the urge to smack him. I heard my Mom's voice, reproachful as ever, saying, "That man..."

When my sister and brother-in-law arrived later on, I told them the fly story. I could tell Elle was more than a little ticked off. And then we both spotted the fly in the living room, lazily going from wall to table to chair to television. My brother-in-law Victor opened the patio door in hopes that it would leave. It did not.

I left my Dad's apartment yesterday fearing for the fly's life.