Hi Julie, you are handling his wanting an apartment very well and, as you say, with time he might forget all about it.
I wouldn’t be too concerned that your children are in denial about Bill’s condition.
You are his caretaker and you know what is happening to him, and that’s all that matters. Sometimes denial happens when the reality of a situation is too much to accept. Again with time, the curtain will go up, all in their own time. Right now, emotionally, they just aren’t ready to accept Bill is sick.
Have a wonderful weekend!

If kids were their for a longer period of time, they would definitely notice a difference, He probably goes to bed early when they are there because he is aware of it being difficult to act OK, The stress is too much so he redraws.

I remember a time when I was at my cousins and my uncle who was visiting, was fine until we asked about the past. He talked about going to med school and getting his degree (he actually had a doctorate's degree in Chemistry and a lot of patents in the past, My husband overstayed our visit, we were to meet a friend later in the evening near by. He got agitated and asked his wife, "Mommy, where are they going to leave? I want to change to my everday clothes". The strain had become too much so we left. He later died of Alzherimer's.

Maybe on their next visit, you can ask them to watch for cues that it is too much for him and notice how soon after he retires. It would be good for the kids to come into reality and to know that they are needed, you should not feel alone in the family handling this.

I can relate to “showtime”. My husband managed it for quite a while, since his daughters only visited for a few hours, once a year. He is now at the point of not being able to carry on a conversation. Unfortunately, they don’t call much at all and haven’t made any visits in a while. They questioned his dementia for so long, as though I was making it up or embellishing it. Sad for all.
I tend to just agree with Lou’s outlandish statements. Sometimes, when he becomes fixated on something he wants, I’m able to put him off or say something like, “I’ll have to look into that”. It seems to make him feel better and he doesn’t want “it” right this minute. I wish you luck figuring out what works for you.

Hi Julie, @billchitwood, how does he respond when you tell him you're looking for an apartment and can't find anything? Does that satisfy him? Do you think he will forget about that soon? I'm fortunate in that my husband is content to be in our house with me. Like Bill, he wants little interaction with others, except to say hello. Wishing you the best.