Update on mom today. She seems to be wearing down. I'm concerned about her living alone but she's very actively refusing any changes in her lifestyle. She's not recognizing the dehydration risks which are showing some symptoms. She just cooked some eggs with tomato sauce in a pan with toast under it. It's an Italian dish, sorry can't remember the name. I asked her what she'd like to drink, I'll get it. She looked puzzled and I told her what the choices were. It appeared she hasn't been in the habit of not drinking with meals. There weren't any cups or glasses near the sink with plates, pans, etc. I gave her a half a cup of water. She continued eating and I gave her a few minutes to take a sip. I asked her to do me a favor and take a sip. She drank a few sips and I asked her if the water tasted okay. Her voice immediately sounded better. She had just started her day just before we arrived about noon. She said she slept well. She slept from 9:30 the night before to almost noon.
I'm going to start a new regimen. I'm going there everyday about noon to verify her hydration and eating. Also to deal with mail burden which she can't manage any longer. She's a "victim" of mail harassment. A constant badgering of donation solicitations for decades.
For anyone out there who has opinions on my way of dealing with her aging, this has been an evolutionary trip for over ten years. Seeing her puzzled face and difficulty hearing and not understanding my questions around her drinking water was not aging with grace. It was not the confident woman I've known for a lifetime. It's close to the point where I'm going to have make decisions I don't want to deal with.