Just to back from a day with family at their home. On the surface she was great with a bit of humor thrown in. Got home tonight, my sons phoned to see we got home safely and thought the day went very well. After 10minutes at home she was a nervous wreck and in tears. Think the effort taken to appear ok gets too much and all the tension just releases.My dad has similar skills and can be quite charming. He isn't realistic about things he can do and sounds credible when he talks to people about how he intends to do garden and maintenance projects, get a new car, etc. none of which are realistic. It can easily give the impression that he is much more capable than he is.
Big thanks for the HOSTESS MODE. It answers all my questions. You think you're the only one experiencing it but it appears that most suffer from it. I've told my family to Google it as I'm just back from an excellent day visiting family and she was on great form. Arrived back home and she went to pieces. On a lighter note, my granddaughter suffers from it (and probably other people's) she is angelic in our eyes but her parents say different. Thinking further back, our sons were the same.It's often referred to as "Hostess mode" and can appear to make them normal, be careful, this can lead to professionals being taken in to say there is no problem here. When in actual fact there is a very real underlying problem.
When taking them to GP.s Memory clinic, etc. it is best to prewarn by way of a letter that there are issue's that need to come out. (Being accused of Letting the cat out of the bag, by my father on several occasions. I was going to tell the truth, come what may, it got him the help he needed.)
Bod