Update for April 25, 2010

Hi, Everybody,

I have quite a short report on Dad again this week. (I tried to contact family for reports on how Dad's doing, but I was only able to reach Martha.)

Martha says that Dad is always very pleased to see them. Even if he's asleep when they arrive, he usually wakes up if Martha calls his name.

She reported that the staff members at the care facility say Dad often doesn’t get up for dinner, but since he eats a good breakfast and lunch, they don’t worry about him missing dinner. (We were told a couple of years ago that Dad probably only needs two meals a day because his activity level is so low.)

Martha reported that she's finished reading Dad House at Pooh Corner, one of the Winne-the-Pooh books. She says she wasn't always sure whether Dad was listening to the entire chapter, but she read a chapter each time she visited. She's also read him some verses from Now We Are Six and When We Were Very Young, Milne's books of children's verses. Dad mouthed the words along with her for some of the verses he knows so well from our childhoods—“Lines and Squares” and “Disobedience” and “The King’s Breakfast.”

I'm suddenly remembering that Dad used to recite "Lines and Squares" to me when he'd pick me up from pre-school at BYU. We'd go to his office in the McKay Building where there were big squares on the floors in the hall, and as he recited, "Look at me walking in all of the squares," I would take great big steps to make sure I was avoiding all the lines and walking in all of the squares!

Martha says she doesn't think that her husband, Dave, had ever read the Winnie-the-Pooh books either, so it's been fun for him to hear them as Martha's read them to Dad. Enjoying Winnie-the-Pooh as an adult is also carrying on a fine Craig tradition. When Dad was in the Navy in World War II, Mom sent him a copy of Winnie-the-Pooh, which he'd never read before.

Tonight I phoned and spoke to Dad for a few minutes. He told me he was happy to hear from me, and his voice sounded strong. He chuckled as I told him about my grandson, Jeffrey, who's 20 months old and entering the "terrible twos." The other night when he woke up in the night, Christine told me he kept crying for me--to the point where Christine wondered if she should come wake me up. But the next day when I came home from being out for most of the day, Christine asked him if he wanted to give me kisses, he said (in his sweet little voice), "No." "Do you want to give Oma Eskimo kisses?" "No." "Do you want to give Oma loves?" "No."

When I told Dad that I loved him and missed him, he said, "Well, what I have to say is, 'Repeat, repeat!'"

We're concerned that Dad's not getting visited as much as we'd like. We're going to see if someone from the ward can visit him once a week, so he gets more visits. If you're interested and able to go see him, we'd appreciate it. Be prepared to tell him some stories--he's not really able to have a conversation anymore. Visits can be very short, but please sign the book on his dresser, so we know you visited.

As always, thank you for your love and interest in Dad!