A fall she didn’t tell you about.
A bruise she waves off. A story that changes slightly the second time. Ask gently, and ask again another day. One fall makes the next one more likely, so this is the sign worth acting on soonest.
Mail piling up, and meals that don’t.
Envelopes in a stack. A late notice for a bill she has paid for forty years. Food going out of date in the fridge, or the same simple meal every day because cooking has become work.
The same story, more than once.
Repeating a story is not always memory loss, and worry is not a diagnosis. Write down what you notice, with dates, and bring the list to her doctor rather than to the internet.
A house that is getting away from her.
Laundry she used to keep on top of. A bathroom that is harder to clean. Rooms she has stopped using. Holding the wall on the stairs, or avoiding the shower until the afternoon.
Her world getting smaller, and your worry getting louder.
Church, friends and the hairdresser dropped one by one. Calls at odd hours. Checking your phone in a meeting, or driving over just to see. One sign is a conversation. Several are a plan.