My 92-year-old mother has some memory issues.

[MineralMan]

5. From everything I can tell, those afternoon phone calls

are a high point in their day. Mostly, we talk about old times, what's for dinner that evening, and other family banter. We generally chat for about 45 minutes each day.

If I were living there, I'd drop by every day and see if there was something I could do for them. But, they're in California and I'm in Minnesota, where my wife's mother has even worse problems. Fortunately, my brother and sister live nearby, and do drop in daily on them. We all wish they'd move into assisted living, but we don't press them too much on that. They're doing OK, with some help from their offspring, but it's troubling sometimes.

My wife and I will see them at Christmas. We fly out there a couple of times a year. We can't afford to do it more often.