It is true

What is true you might ask.  It is true that we get to be a 4 year old twice in this lifetime.  You have probably heard the saying that we get to be "twice a child... once an adult".  In my dementia education (and by education I mean baptism by fire)  I have learned that 4 is a favorite age in our brains it seems. 
My mother doesn't hesitate to throw a fit when she is tired, argue over the last piece of cake and piddle where she is when it is too much trouble to go to the bathroom.  She refuses to eat anything that doesn't look very good to her.  She won't change clothes unless it is her idea and if they don't match "you'll just have to deal with it" she says. 
Yet sometimes she also gets to be the mom or at least try to.  Last night when I took the Manny to the bus, she was determined that she would be going with me at almost 11 O'Clock at night.  When I said no she insisted that I didn't need to go downtown alone at that hour.  Uhhhhh... excatly what was she going to do for me if someone did try to get me...  she was being a mom. 
Dementia is a cruel disease that robs people of their dignity at a time when dignity is most important because life is robbing us of many other things we have always enjoyed.  We try to live in the moment and enjoy the rare moments of clarity or enjoyment that Gma has these days.