After the diagnosis and learning about dementia, we were told to keep her mind engaged, active. An eldercare centre near my parents' house provided just that.

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The centre engaged its community in many different ways, and one of my favourites was the day they held a pizza-making course. The centre's staff kept my mother company, snapping photos and sending them to us — their caregivers, their family.

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And I'd like to think I saw glimpses of my mother before dementia — in her persistence and innate desire to see things through till the end. For a programme that was meant to be fun and engaging for the primary clients, I never expected it to be so enlightening for me too.

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The centre also ran other programmes, such as simple English lessons, and they were always generous with praise. Just recently, my mother even received an 'Outstanding Job' award.

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As much as I miss the mother I had before dementia, these certificates — these moments, remind me that the mother I have now, the one I am caregiving for, is still my mother, just on a different chapter, and it is one I am very grateful to be able to read.