Forgetting how to Spell. Reposted from Dec. 8th 2010

Why do we spell Sugar S-U-G-A-R? My mom says that we need some sugar to finish baking the Christmas cookies. We need Powdered sugar. I ask her to find a post- it and make a list of the ingredients that we need. She asks again, "what was it that we need ?" I repeat, Powdered Sugar... She looks up at nothing and ponders out loud, "Sugar, sugar, sugar...." Not sure as to how to spell the word. She slowly and hesitantly writes a word down on the paper. I take the list and yes, she spelled the word right! I am glad because this happens quite often. She is losing her ability to articulate, to speak and to spell. I feel sometimes like I have an elementary year-old child who is learning how to spell, how the English language works. Lately I have a been a bit more calm. We are baking a lot, and preparing for the holidays, or should I say that Mom is baking a lot. She is so excited for Christmas this year that she already sent all of her Christmas cards in November, carefully going through an address book that is near a decade old, with shredded pages and expired addressed. She lives in the past, and I am not surprised when the mail is returned and a sticker reads, "Unable to deliver-invalid address." She started baking cookies, same ones as every year. I am not worried about her forgetting to turn off the oven...or should I be? She is convinced that hiding the cookies in a cupboard and serving them at our Christmas party in 3 1/2 weeks is perfectly fine and she has done the same every year. The old recipes are torn and corners are burnt, but they have been handed down from my Great Great Grandmother, and this is a tradition that she will never forget...even if she does forget how to spell S-U-G-A-R.