Thursday, November 14, 2013

Dad

Well, my father is now officially moved in with us. My brother, sister, and I moved him down last Friday. I am pleased with how cozy and comfortable his room is with his things in it. I think it turned out nice. And he is getting used to being here. The first day or two he was confused and kept talking about going home, but now is understanding that this is home now . . . even though its going to take some getting used to and adjusting. (Click here for my brother's post on this, with some pictures.)

Yesterday we put a lot of his pictures up on the walls, which I think will help too. Yesterday was also a bit surreal as I drilled and screwed to hang his "picture rack" on his wall. That's what my Dad always did for us! He was the handyman, the carpenter. He taught me how to do all these things. But now I do them for him. He isn't very steady on his feet anymore and so cannot do what he used to. That's why we moved him down. It must be frustrating for him.

One of the adjustments we're going to be figuring out for a while is how he can help us around the house. He wants to help, to stay busy, but we have to figure out what he is still able to do. But I think he is enjoying being around people more. He still has his privacy when he wants it - he can go into his "suite" and shut the door. But the other night he also sat at the piano with my youngest and sang Christmas songs with her.  :-)  Good for both of them. I am glad my children will be able to spend a lot of time with their grandfather like this. It's something I never got to do - both my grandfathers died when I was just a baby.

And hopefully now I will be able to spend a little more time on my school stuff. I have to get my exams done and move on to my dissertation! But all this moving stuff has set me back a bit. Now, maybe . . . ?