This weekend was my 30th high school reunion. I had a chance to catch-up with two dear friends. Because we were high school buddies, we all knew each other’s parents.

The Alzheimer’s Association reports became very real to me this weekend. The latest Alzheimer’s Association report shares that 1 in 8 people who are 65 have some form of dementia. At 85, that figure is 1 in 2. While those figures are striking to me, I’m starting to comprehend how pervasive dementia is in our world today.

Both friends have parents in their mid-70s. I knew that my one friends mother had dementia because she purchased both the MemoryBanc Register and MemoryBanc Monograph several months ago. She has been keeping me up to date on what’s happening with her mom.

My other friend was listening to us talk about our parents and wondered if what she always considered “eccentricity” in her mom might really be dementia. I think most of us can relate to that. At first I wondered if I was just getting to know my mom better as an adult and now seeing some odd quirks I never recognized before.

While on vacation, she said her mom collected everyone’s underwear daily and washed it. They just went along with it, even though everyone was sure they had packed enough to make it through the trip. This was not a travel habit she had grown up with. She was happy to report that only one pair got singed too badly sitting next to a light bulb to make it home.

As we were talking she mentioned her mom has had some mini-strokes. I explained to her that those mini-strokes have most likely resulted in her mom having vascular dementia.

Three friends, with three mom’s with dementia in their 70’s. This problem is bigger even than I thought. Realized.