My youngest brother went to visit Dad on his lunch hour. He sent the family an email of his visit and I got such a kick out of it, I wanted to share it with you all. I called him to ask if I could cut and paste it to my blog. We chatted for awhile and he elaborated a bit more of his visit, so I will include that as well. (For some reason I could not get the cut and paste to work, so I must re-type it. Hopefully it won't lose any of his humor and charm in my translation...
Family: I went to visit Pops today. I found him in the lunch room eating along with about 40 or 50 other people. Some were eating and most were watching TV. When I broke out the ice cold chocolate shake and the juicy cheeseburger, all eyes were glued on me and Dad!
I mean, I feel bad that I did not have enough to go around... the way they were all lookin' at me...but hey, I am here for my Pops, I gotta' take care of him. I wheeled him out to the patio so he could have some privacy and no one would try to snag his food.
Here is what he ate for lunch:
Jack n the Box cheeseburger
Jack n the Box chocolate shake
Bag of trail mix from Costco
Beef Stew
Peas and cheese dish
Baked potato
Side of carrots
Glass of milk
Glass of water
Ice cream
I got full, just watching him eat it! The kicker is, he fed himself 90% of it and it took him about 8 minutes to finish it all! I think he just "stamped" the food with his teeth and swallowed!
He was in a real positive mind set.
He said he needed to keep the faith, stay positive and appreciate each day. He said he really enjoyed his visit with Mom and " _____ Doll" last night.
I had discussed some things with Dad about how we all need to appreciate each day that God gives to us and he really latched on to that. I also told him, being at the nursing home, is away from "The Rat Race of Negativity" in the outside world. In many ways, it is really a very peaceful place.
I also told him to keep it simple and to remember the small things and the memories. I pointed out one green tomato on a tomato plant growing in a planter on the patio where Dad had just devastated his lunch. I reminded him of when he used to empty the fridge building me a huge "Dagwood" sandwich (the best lunch ever!). Dad smiled and said he remembered...
When he was workin' the trail mix, like it was the last bag on earth, and he had 18 seconds to finish it off; I asked if he remembered when he would eat nuts and how he used to shake them in his hand before tossing them into his mouth. Dad smiled, and the next batch he took in his hand, he did it. It was a Classic moment, and made us both laugh...
I heard the crazy cackle from the guy in bed one...(he could nail down the bucks in a haunted house!) I met Dad's newest room mate in bed two, he spilled his milk from his lunch tray. I soaked up the milk on his tray and bed. He spilled some on his PJ's on the outside of his leg and asked me to clean that too. I told him, "You're GOOD buddy" and left him a stack of paper towels. Funny guy...LOL...(He better save that trick for the pretty nurses...)
I lifted Dad out of his wheel chair to help him into bed, and as I did, he tensed up and keep repeating, "DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!" (it reminded me of Ray in RAINMAN) I reassured him, making sure he knew I would not let him fall. Got him all squared away, hugged him, gave him a whisker rub and told him I loved him. I asked if he was comfortable and he smiled and told me was.
That's all for now, heading to Vegas tomorrow morning. And Donna, it is just a turn around, I come back home Friday morning.
This was a GREAT visit!
Love you all,
E____
Not only did my brother allow me to experience his visit through his eyes, but he made my day with his own unique way of telling a story. God has over Blessed our family with humor and togetherness. We are a family of great Faith and belief in God. It is one of our greatest strengths. Together, we use our humor for the good times and to get through the difficult ones...
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