A fall she didn’t tell you about.
A bruise she waves off. A story that changes. Ask gently, and ask again.
Unopened mail and unpaid bills.
Envelopes in a pile. A late notice. Money that used to be handled without a thought.
The same story, more than once.
Repeating is not always memory loss, but it is worth a conversation with her doctor.
Food that stays in the fridge.
Expired groceries, the same meal every day, or a little less of her each time you hug her.
Missed medications.
A pill box still full on Thursday, or empty too soon.
A house that is getting away from her.
Laundry piling up. A bathroom that is harder to keep clean. Rooms she has stopped using.
Less interest in going out.
Church, friends, the hairdresser, quietly dropped one by one.
Trouble on the stairs or in the shower.
Holding the walls. Avoiding the tub. A bath that takes all morning.
Calls at odd hours.
Confusion at night, or a loneliness she would not name in daylight.
Your own worry, all the time.
Checking your phone at work. Driving over “just to see”. Something has changed for both of you.
One sign is a conversation. Several are a plan.
You do not have to decide on your own. Start with the part of the day that feels hardest, and we can talk through what a little help would look like.