A good friend of mine for the last few years of her long (97 years)life no longer recognized her daughter, Marie, although she recognized and welcomed me. It upset her daughter needlessly; I tried to get it across to her tactfully that she simply didn't recognize the whitehaired woman her daughter had become. She still talked fondly of her daughter but she thought of her as the kid she had always known.

Is there a better way to handle something like that? It simply broke Marie's heart.