Hello on Friday Morning

Dear Friends,

My way of dealing with aging parents certainly brought up a great deal of discussion. Like one of the responders said, it is a decision by the family as well as the aging parents.

Speaking of dear old dad, my sister set dad up in his own home after he was discharged from the hospital a little after noon on Thursday. My sister made sure that the hospital bed on the first floor was working fine. She made sure that dad had everything he needed before she left to go back to her own home.
I called dad last night, and Dad was in bed and reading a book. He decided not to sleep in the hospital bed. He went upstairs to his own bed on the second floor. He said that there is nothing like sleeping in his own bed. Is this De Ja Vu all over again?

Last evening, Linda and I decided to just chill and not go off to the Third Thursday or Patrick’s Pub. Linda chose to knit and watch reruns, and I went in the screened in room on the deck to watch the Red Sox. Well, the Red Sox let me down by getting behind by a 6 runs, and this was in the top of the first inning. Luckily, I had the volume turned down, and was reading a book. The book was more exciting than the Red Sox game.

In a few short hours, I will be off to the golf course to play with our Friday morning seniors group. I might have a little trouble swinging the golf clubs since I twisted one of my knees at some point on Thursday. I don’t remember when and how that it happened.

My father’s roommate in the hospital was a cranky guy who kept on using vulgar language when addressing hospital staff, and doctors too. A little curtain between my father and his roommate still allows you to hear every word of any conversations. The guy must have had diabetes and was there in the hospital because all the toes on one leg were totally gone. The operation must have happened during his stay at the hospital because someone from the wound clinic was taking care of him when I was there. This guy was getting discharged, and being sent to a nursing home. Wait until the staff in the nursing home staff has to deal with him?
I think that he is a little younger than me.
What really made my day was when my father said that I was related to the guy by way of my mother’s side of the family. All the nurses who dealt with this man said that he was a mean and crotchety guy every time he gets admitted to the hospital.
All the nurses wanted my father to stay longer because he was such a good patient, and an easy one to take care of.

The sheet rock / painter guys were priming the walls on Thursday. They will be back again today.

Social Calendar – I have golf in the morning, but we didn’t have any set plans for this evening. We talked about going to the Shamrock for supper, but my golf course put out a Friday night’s menu of what they have to offer. Their menu seemed pretty awesome too.
Linda is not socially engaged. She was working with a computer guy on Thursday, who was one of my student’s from Taconic High School, to see if he can fix our son Kevin’s laptop. When the computer guy took it apart, he saw that the computer has been dropped, incurred water damage, and there were some burned out electronic parts of the computer. What Kevin really wanted was some data that he needed for his business. He does have his own device to back up data, but he didn’t do so when his computer got sick. The guy said that he could save the data, but the machine is on its way out.

News – The world was quite quiet on Thursday. The cap on the oil well seemed to work for the first test. Some scientists think that the pressure of the gushing oil might be too much for the cap to hold.

Weather – We are supposed to get a rash of thunderstorms late afternoon and evening here in the Berkshires. I can’t wait for the humidity to dissipate! My friends and I should be able to make it through 18 holes of golf before the rains rolls in.

Observation – From what I have observed through my aging parents, for the most part, they don’t want to be a burden on their family. They don’t want to hear that they have to do this or have to do that.
I have had relatives who have put additions on their house with separate living quarters just for their parents.
I have had friends have their parents come live with them.
I have had friends take care of sickly parents in their own home. After a while, the caregiver children were starting to develop their own health issues because of the stress of being there to take care of mom and dad.
Some of my more mature friends who have gone through all the scenarios have told me to leave it up to the professionals. My father would love it if someone made him three square meals a day, wash his clothes, cleaned the house, etc. Well, my sister and I are not up for the task. We have our own families, and our grandchildren whom we are dealing with. If you think that my sister and I are selfish and uncaring then so be it.
Yes, our parents have brought us into this world, kicked us out of the nest, and let us function on our own. We have our own nests to take care.
My sister and I do love our parents, but we can’t be there every waking moment for them, and I don’t think that nature intended us to do so!

Well, I have some quiet chores to take care of, and then I have to select my golf wardrobe.
Have a great Friday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad