Malebolge

Dante wrote in his poem, Divine Comedy, that the eighth circle of Hell, Malebolge, is reserved for those who commit fraud.  Fraud that is punished in Malebolge includes many different kinds of deceit including extortion, hypocrisy and lies.  There is so much fraud to punish that there are actually 10 divisions to this particular circle of Hell.  The 10th division is where the falsifiers are punished by being afflicted with diseases such as rashes, dropsy, leprosy and consumption.  Mom, it appears, is on her way down to Malebolge.

She writes, "I think there are different levels of Hell and I'm going way down with the liars."

Yes, Mom.  According to Dante, you may be.  But, I get ahead of myself.  Mom is actively telling Lyn lies.  Are they for personal gain?  Not if keeping a peaceful household and a calm Lyn is personal gain. Mom writes of her misdeeds,

     "Yesterday Lyn asked if she has Alzheimer's.
  
     I said "Yes" and asked why.  

     She said on TV they had an old grandma and she has it.  The people were talking but the grandma didn't understand and they didn't know what to do.  

     I said I was sorry I hadn't seen that.  

     Lyn informed me that I don't have to see everything.  

     I said the grandma might have a bad case of Alzheimer's.  

     To which Lyn responded with "I don't have it and I don't have a diagnosis because I'm just me."  

     I agreed that she is just Lyn.  In the meet & greet she said that again and I agreed she is just Lyn.  I said I try to be careful not to use the words "Alzheimer's" or "diagnosis", if possible.  We all agree that sometimes Lyn just needs a little bit of help.  

     Then shortly after turning on TV, the ad she saw yesterday was on.  She said to look at the old grandma.  

     I, once again, lied to her.  I said that sometimes when old people have Alzheimer's it is different than when young people have it.  I pointed out how the family was talking about the grandma wandering and getting lost.  I said that since Lyn is young, her brain is healthier and we aren't worried about her wandering.  It was a commercial for an adult care program.  

     She said when she's older she's not going to have the same Alzheimer's that old grandma has.  

     I told her it was a good idea not to have it.

     She is becoming sensitive to even hearing the word Alzheimer's."

These are the lies Mom tells.  If there is a hell and if Malebolge is in Mom's travel schedule, perhaps she'll just be afflicted with a rash as punishment for her lies.  I think consumption may be a bit much.

Additional Information:
Psychiatrists and Nurses Admit Lying to Dementia Patients