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Wistful Memories

When you've had a parent struggle at the end of life with Alzheimer's or dementia, you don't take your own memory glitches lightly. We all have them, but after my father died, I found myself looking more carefully at my own brushes with memory loss. So imagine my dismay last week when I accidentally left my sister at the airport to fend for herself and find her way to our house all because I had written on my calendar that she was coming in on Monday instead of Sunday. I was totally thrown out of whack by this major scheduling snafu. We laughed, I sighed deeply, and then moved on. Monday morning I dragged her to my semi-annual dentist appointment. I know what you're thinking: your sister came 3,000 miles to see you and you dragged her to the dentist???! Well, in all fairness, she only made these reservations on July 1st and rearranging those semi-annual visits is as easy as booking dinner with the queen. She assured me that she was happy just spending time with us, and so off we went.

 Upon arrival at the dentist's office, the receptionist had a funny look on her face. She stepped away for a moment and then said, "I have you down for next Monday." Now I really know what you're thinking: you dragged your sister to the dentist on the wrong day after having left her at the airport? This is not good. Inside I was really getting thrown about my own mind. How could this be? My little reminder card had read July 15th. It had to be their error. The receptionist kindly handed me a Starbucks gift card and told us to go have coffee on her, which we did. Afterwards we got back in the car only to find that it wouldn't start. Bad things happen in threes, so life was looking up.

We were rescued by my neighbor Dave who kindly picked us up. I was ready to call it a day. Or a week. When we came home, I checked my calendar. Sure enough, I had two visits to the dentist on two consecutive Mondays. The error was all mine. Sigh. That afternoon my son had an art class just down the road from our house, so I buzzed him down only to find that there was no class. I still am not sure what happened to that class, but I had just gone past the magic three; something was not right. Nagging reminders of my dad's last few years were leaving an edge to my laughter, but what was I to do? Carry on. Just carry on.

Thank goodness for friends. Just a few days before my memory mayhem, my friend Nancy (wife of kind Dave) delivered a bottle of Scalabrone, a light red wine made from Cabernet, Merlot, and Syrah grapes. Along with the wine came a recipe for Scalabrone Sangria. In anticipation of my sister's arrival, I had purchased all the ingredients, and in my best-laid-plans senario, I would put everything together Sunday night so that we could enjoy the sangria Monday evening. But since these plans didn't quite work out,  I put everything together Monday morning before heading to the dentist. That evening, instead of hiding under a rock as I wanted to, we thoroughly enjoyed several glasses of the fruity blend. All's well that ends well. Hopefully my sister will muster up the courage to visit once again. Chances are she will send reminder texts every hour in advance of her arrival.

There are many different recipes for sangria and I am by no means an authority, but this is a tasty one. I don't know how easy it is to find Scalabrone, but I suspect a bottle of Merlot or Syrah would substitute well. On a warm summer evening, it's a very refreshing drink.

Scalabrone Sangria

1 bottle Scalabrone
Juice of one orange
Juice of one lemon
2 cups chopped ripe peaches
1 1/2 cup raspberries
1 1/2 cup club soda
2 T sugar
1/4 cup fruit brandy (I used Clear Creek Distillery Loganberry Liqueur)

I placed all ingredients (except the club soda) together in a pitcher and let set overnight. The original recipe says to "blend" all the ingredients, which could be interpreted to mean mix in a blender. You'll have to choose. Add club soda before serving; it should be nice and chilled. The recipe can be made without the added liqueur for a lighter drink. Sangria is guaranteed to cure ever the most difficult of days. On this I am an expert.

Comments

  1. UnknownJuly 25, 2013 at 3:38 AM

    Thank you for posting this one. I didn't know your Dad struggled with Alzheimer's but I do understand it well since my mom is also struggling with dementia.
    One thing for sure-your sister was delighted to be with you in whatever form it took!
    Sangria sounds delish!!
    Xo

    ReplyDelete

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