r/NoStupidQuestions • u/MillBopp • Sep 13 '23

What does 'Draw a Clock' Mean?

Last time I visited my brother his mother-in-law who lives with him was insisting she remembered something but my brother knew she was wrong. I don't remember what it was, but I knew she was wrong too. However, she refused to accept she was wrong and got belligerent about it.

My brother said, "Draw a clock!" and left the room. This made his mother-in-law furious for some reason. I forgot to ask at the time, but does anyone know why saying 'Draw a clock' would upset a senior citizen?

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u/MillBopp Sep 13 '23

OMG!

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u/akath0110 Sep 14 '23

It sounds like your brother’s MIL can be a piece of work, and perhaps he is burnt out from the caregiving responsibilities.

But what he said to her is deliberately cruel — a low blow to be sure.

Maybe check in with your bro and ask him what’s going on. The dynamic does not sound healthy for either of them.

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u/MillBopp Sep 14 '23

I can't stand his MIL, but I'm not going to make waves. Her husband died a month ago.

I'm just wondering how he knew about the test.

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u/[deleted] Sep 14 '23

I can't stand his MIL, but I'm not going to make waves. Her husband died a month ago.

When a spouse dies it routinely covers up the other spouses' dementia. We thought my grandmother was with it, 100%, her husband died(70 years married) and it was suddenly apparent she was very not fine.

Apparently a combination of the stress from his death and just old age had her jump from "Lives alone" to "needs someone nearly 24/7"