Hello, Everyone,
My report today is just from my brief conversation with Dad this evening.
Dad sounded good, though his voice was a bit slurred as we began speaking, but it sounded better very quickly. I told Dad who I was and asked how he was doing, and then there was a little pause. Dad said, "What can I do for you?"--more of a response than I expected, and one that was just what he might have said 10 years ago in a similar situation.
I told Dad that our dear friends in England send their love to him--Sally and her parents Min and Reg Oram. He said, "Oh, isn't that wonderful!" I told him that I write about him and post it on the internet--no response, but that's not surprising: even before he began having problems with dementia, the internet was a great mystery to him. I explained that the Orams read what I write and know what's going on with him. He responded, "Oh, how nice."
I told him that I'd be coming to Utah next week and would be able to see him, and he said, "Isn't that wonderful!" He gave a similar response to news that Christine will try to see him for the part of the day she'll be in Utah.
He chuckled at my story about Jeffrey who is talking more clearly now and who threw a doughnut-shaped toy behind the neighbors' TV the other day. When our friends walked through the door, Jeffrey said, "Doughnut behind TV." The husband understood him perfectly (which really impressed Christine that he could figure out that sentence with no context!).
I told Dad I was looking forward to seeing him next week when I'll be in Utah, and he said he's looking forward to seeing me. I told him I love him and that Christine and Michael send their love as well. He told me that he loves me too. It's hard to know how much he understands, but it's clear he still knows how to be gracious and loving.
I'll have more to report after visiting Dad next week at the new care facility he's in now. I'll be traveling for the next three weeks, but I hope to keep to my schedule and write again about Dad on Dec. 26th.
Merry Christmas, everyone, and (as always) thanks for reading!
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Alison~~Thanks for the post! I check your blog every few days, and am always cheered when I hear some news. Your comment about Marshall's always knowing how to be gracious reminds me of my favorite snapshot of him. He's at his desk, which is piled and overflowing with all manner of papers and books; he's leaning forward and seems about to break into a laugh. Obviously, he was interrupted at work by whoever was taking the photo (me, almost certainly), but he still exuded graciousness without even the shadow of impatience.
ReplyDeleteBlessed holidays to you and yours!
Elouise