Paternity Test

My Dad has developed his personal paternity test. There are times I go in to check on him and he is laying in the same bedroom he has had for 12 years and is scared to death. I look into his eyes and they are "deer in the headlight". You know that look, eyes wide, fixed and then darting around looking for something, anything.

I have a recliner chair next to his bed. The idea is that I can sleep there when necessary and he can see me if he wakes up. We do this if he is not feeling well and I am scared or if he is scared. At this point I usually go in and say:

"Hi Daddy"
(This is where my continued naivete shows up. I fully expect that my using the title Daddy and he responding to the title, means he understands our relationship. HA! Rookie move, but I fall for it every time.)
"Who are you?"
(This is when I go "Oh shoot" and remind myself that no the title doesn't give him a clue.)
"I am Debbie, your daughter"
(Once again, holding onto that titile thing.)
"You are not"
(Well that was blunt)
"Yes I am Debbie"
(If I just keep repeating myself he'll get it. It was like I had never been around someone with dementia before!)
"No, Debbie is a baby"
(Okay I may be a babe (she says smugly) but I am not a baby.)
"I am Debbie but I am grown up"
(Once again I resort to logic (like that will work, duh))
"Who's your mother?"
(This is the paternity test.)
"Peggy"
(Thank God I know the answer.)
"Well then I guess you are Debbie"

I always feel this sense of relief (like I would not know my mother's name). But going through this process with him, reassures him that I am who I say I am. It also sets the tone for the day, from that moment I become the Oracle, the Delphi, the fount of all information and she who must be obeyed. Now, all that has its perks (I will admit), but it can be a little heady. It can also be exhausting. But you know what is more exhausting? Having dementia.