It's very hard not to feel sad watching parents decline in health and vitality.
My mum is in a care-home - she is virtually immobile due to Parkinson's. That's difficult enough, given that she was always on the go ... but she's now getting increasingly confused. Mum was a very capable woman - she was a sheltered housing warden for over 25 years and knew everything about every one of her 30-odd residents. She knew their personal and family details, medical histories, pension days, shopping preferences (she often collected pensions and shopping when the weather was less than perfect), everything! She ran her own household and all 26 bungalows without ever missing a beat ... now, only 10 years after retiring, she can't manage to organise her own day
It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago and she forgot - I won't hurt her feelings by reminding her, but it is so sad to see this woman who was once more capable than I could ever hope to be so let down by her own body and mind.