Two of my nieces and a nephew came to visit. I suspect that they timed the visit because they are not sure how many opportunities they will have in the future.

When we were at lunch, Miklos turned to my nephew and told him, “My mind is relatively good, but my hearing is really bad.” I joked that he has a good memory for relatives and we continued a battle of puns on relativity. Miklos, who in the past would have been squarely in the middle of this repartee, silently continued eating his soup.

That evening, when our daughter joined us for dinner, Miklos asked Matt, “Do you consider Corinna a cousin?” Matt, kindly, just answered that yes, he considered her a cousin because they are cousins. A few minutes later, Miklos finally processed the relationship, and said, “Yes, you are first cousins.”

This is the second instance in which he has had difficulty identifying close friends or relatives. The first, I think I have described as the visit from our former step-granddaughter. In that case, he hadn’t seen her for several years, and she had grown up considerably. With Matt, it was different. The last time we saw Matt, a year ago, he was a mature adult. His appearance hasn’t changed very much in the past year. Miklos had no difficulty identifying Matt in the morning, but had lost the connection by the evening.

Unlike the visit with Abby, Miklos was not at all uncomfortable with Matt’s presence in the house, which is probably an indication that he understood that Matt is somehow related. He had lost that connection completely for Abby.

My daughter reminded me to be grateful that he recognizes me — that he recognizes her. I am also grateful that the lunch conversation with Matt indicates that Miklos has, indeed, forgotten that he has Alzheimer’s disease.