Dad

I'm so bad at updating my blog lately.

I have some old things that I need to write up so I don't forget though:

trip to Alaska

hmmm...I think I already forgot all of the other things because I was planning to put a big list and all I could come up with was "trip to Alaska"

My Dad turned 82 this week!

He's still the same.  I don't feel like he seems older to me.

He might forget some stuff and he's pretty anti-technology in general

but he's still the same guy he's always been.

He loves to drive and will drive up to Logan for the day (a 2 hour one way trip) just for fun.

He still tells great stories.

He still makes a killer fruit salad.

He regularly washes and waxes his cars as well as a neighbors car while he's at it.

He is still full of energy!

He and Mom live a pretty simple life nowadays.

They walk for an hour every morning.

Dad makes a lot of steamed veggies and stuff like that for meals.

They eat out a couple of times a week, usually one lunch is with me most weeks.

He jokes that they sometimes go walking up at the outlets but they have to go early before the stores open or they are in trouble.

He showed up to his birthday dinner sporting a new hat and both he and mom had new shoes.

He said, "We went walking at the outlets today but we got a late start and they were open." 

Ha!

I didn't think he looked happy in this first picture so I made him retake it.

He told me it's all about the angle of the hat whether you look happy or not.

My Dad takes good care of my mom who has dementia.

She does pretty well overall but has lately become a bit more paranoid

which makes her harder to "handle" (for lack of a better word)

When she gets an idea in her head she gets in a bit of a loop and it's hard to move her to a new subject.

She is very repetitive.

It's all quite hard but Dad is generally very patient and kind to mom.

He spends most of his time thinking about what to do for her to make her comfortable or help her be more healthy.

He encourages her to do things on her own that she can do.

He helps her stay busy with little projects or hobbies.

They go for long drives partially because mom does so well in the car, just enjoying the drive.

I can see that it is taking a toll on him though.

I think about it a lot and I'm trying to come up with plans for being more helpful to him.

Plus, anytime I spend with mom we always end up watching a chick flick, which I am happy to do.

Win-Win!