Relationships and mild cognitive impairment

Last weekend, I enjoyed some time with my three children. My son who lives on the west coast was here visiting and it was so nice to see all of them together again. The other day, my daughter made a comment about my memory. I can't really remember exactly what she said but my sons agreed with her. It went something like this, "I don't think that you are as bad as you say." I was very hurt by these comments, but I don't think that I said anything. I think that after they left and I really thought about their comments, I was a little shocked by it! Their words made me think that they feel that there isn’t much wrong with my brain.

I know that things will need to change with my children because I can't be hurt by their comments. I should not feel bad because my brain is broken. This is not my fault! Seven years ago, I was diagnosed with a memory impairment called mild cognitive impairment (MCI). I refuse to be in denial! I think that I was a little surprised by what my daughter said and maybe even shocked! I don't really remember what I said but I know that sometimes it takes me a while to understand conversations. Sometimes it takes me a little time to think about the words and understand what was said.

I know that my brain does not function like most people my age, so I know that there is a problem with it. Perhaps these comments were because there are times when I can appear to function pretty normal. I think that most of the time if someone didn't know about my diagnosis, they would not think that anything was wrong. Maybe I've gotten really good at hiding my symptoms, but I'm not really sure about that.