Updating the Status of Dad's Wherabouts...

I am not caring for Dad 24/7 at this time. He is with my sister for a 3 month period. We are about an hour away from each other. I was concerned about his inactivity since he won't be going to the Senior Center daily but I set up home health care for him to get exercise and for my sister to get some help. After all she did point out that she was TEN years older than me. LOL However, she is always also saying how much she is capable of so therefore I had the impression that taking care of Dad would be a BREEEZE for her. Not so I guess. I went to make my first visit just a few days after dropping Dad off with her. She had plenty of stories to tell and she told them to ME like they would be NEW stories. hahaha




She will laugh about all this LATER!!!

This is a good break for ME.....and Dad will be excited to go back to Oklahoma after he has heard the howling tune of 10 dogs, including mine that I had to leave with her, for the umpteenth time. LOL. They bark at mealtime like you would not believe......I mean Dad was even plugging his ears and he is near deaf. Okay, I was laughing I admit. But the good thing is that Dad has a new friend in one of the little Dachshunds......the dog protects Dad even from my sister as she told the story.
Daisy, my Beagle has a new friend in one of the other dogs who plays with her and that's just what she needed to fit in. She had to learn new eating habits....and that was to eat as fast as the other dogs because if she didn't, the other dogs would get hers and she would starve! lol She has never had to eat like that but the first time she did, she scarfed her food down to my surprise. I do wonder how that will play out when she gets home. She may enjoy going back to being the only "child". In fact, I think Dad will enjoy it too. lol
This might just be a good experience for all.
Nola knew what care Dad was....and like I say, if it was not for Rod, I am not sure I would be able to do all that it needed for Dad with my back and knee problems. Rod has them too but he whines less than me. lol

So this will be an odd Christmas....of course I would rather be home....with my husband and in my own home. I searched my heart for this decision for a few days.....I cried at night saying that I didn't want to go....but I knew I had to go. I wasn't sure how I was going to travel with Dad and the puppy all that way in the car.....but we did make it. Not sure how we did it so well, but we did.

I am no Spring chicken myself. I think Rod has planned to fly up here to drive us back home though. He wanted to do that when I left but I told him I would do okay and he should not worry. We made it in good time and I updated Rod frequently and I know he worried just a little less to hear from me every couple of hours.

I have told my Granddaughter Kiara just how much I love her and how much it took to come be with her and her sister for this length of time. She is 13 and may not understand....but one day she will know exactly how much I love her.....more than my own life I believe. She is the shining light of my life. Dad did understand why I was doing all this.....like he said, "You gotta do what you gotta do, kid." KID? Yeah, only if I was a kid....I would let Dad take ALL the responsibility like he used to. lol

So for all of you who read this blog who know Dad and live near my sister or want to see him and travel to her home, you will need to contact her to make arrangements to go out to see him. I will not be bringing him to his hometown to meet with anyone. There is no place in town to take him. Keep in mind he has his good and bad days so you might want to plan with my sister to visit on HIS schedule. She has a lot of barking dogs so if that is not your thing, keep that in mind.

Chicken Pickens Brother...

Well, Dad should have been a comedian....don't think I haven't thought of putting him on the stage at the local Comedy Club open mic night!
Sometimes it's hard to write this stuff because if I had to repeat the details for EACH and everything that comes out of his mouth, there is no way I could do it because it makes NO sense, which is why it's so darn funny.
Right at this moment he is sitting across the living room from me talking up a storm about totally unrelated subjects and sentences that do not connect. He has taken off his socks and playing with his toes talking about Mexicans, some "doins" that's going on and he can't find the paperwork, spiders the size of his hands headed MY way across the floor AND the usual water runnin' all over the floor story.
Way too much information for me to keep up...
That's not why I am writing though....this was about last night. If you read the blog previous to this one then you will understand the rest of this post. IF you did not read it, I would suggest you do because this post will make NO sense to you if you don't.
{I am trying to concentrate and listen to Dad and I keep laughing.....he just said, "There he is pulling up to the dimer"....yes, I spelled that right....has no meaning....but then he goes on with, "There he is right now, pulled up to the side door....he is listening to your writing." "Rod has been marking off inches, look at the water run back."

It's easy to get sidetracked here.

So last night Corey and I brought home Chinese food.
You mention food to Dad and his eyes just pop nearly out of his head.
Rod helps him to the table and it begins.
Dad started talking nonsense and we all couldn't even keep food in our mouths.
But the BIG laugh came when Dad told me that I wasn't giving him the food that he wanted....his eyes got real big and he told me I was holding back the good stuff and not letting him have it. {not true, of course}
I told him I would give him more when he finished what he had.
Then he asked me the name of the chicken he was eating.
I told him it was Teriyaki Chicken.....and that opened the door.

Then Dad's eyes got real big and he blurted out, "I KNOW HIM." I looked at Dad still trying to recover from all the other stuff and I asked, "You know WHO?" Dad tried to repeat Teriyaki Chicken but wasn't very successful and I started to laugh so hard, Corey lost it and Rod couldn't talk. So I was laughing so hard I couldn't talk either but I managed to ask Dad if he was CHICKEN PICKENS BROTHER????

Climbin' & Diggin" with my Friend Chicken Picken...

Just to give credit where credit is due...Corey titled this story...
Went to church in the morning with Dad, Rod, and Corey. All seemed normal till we got to the restaurant.
Dad started in on stories for some reason. During the meal in which we were constantly entertained I nearly choked while drinking my soda, had to hold my head down in order...Corey had to cover his mouth so he didn't lose his food.
We were talking about driving back to Indiana soon in which I would be driving and Dad would be the passenger. From the last trip we took I have to take special measures to keep him away from the steering wheel and quite possibly find a way to make him sleep. haha He was awake the ENTIRE 14 hours the last trip back to OK and we were going out of our minds with Dad constantly complaining about something, trying to grab the wheel while Rod was driving and talking about total nonsense stuff. So I was thinking I could possibly go nuts this trip.

During this discussion in which Dad was asking questions and surprisingly paying attention to the conversation he says......."I won't be able to help you drive, I don't think." The laughing at the table begins.....REALLY? You mean you are not sure that you are unable to help me drive???? Lord help me on this trip. I know for sure not to leave the keys in the car while I go out of the vehicle for any reason AT ALL.
It was one thing after another coming out of his mouth. The reason he couldn't drive, he discovered was because his eyeballs were about 6" to the front of him and that causing sight issues. BAM, BAM.....then another subject jumped into his head and we were laughing again just after we had got control after the last bright idea.
Watching him eat while he was talking was just as funny as the subjects he had. He had pepper on his bananas and kiwi. I tried to fix it and he snapped at me to leave it alone, that's what he wanted. Then I did assist him with the pepper sauce and he said I didn't put enough.....so Corey added more and then he ate all those eggs and sausage with hot sauce. He said it was just right. Who is this man??? He wouldn't eat that stuff before today!! He tried to eat his napkin. Yes, the napkin.....he had so much jelly and sauce on that napkin from sticking it in his plate that he thought it was food. He picked the napkin up with his hand and tried to stick it in his mouth and eat it. Corey just laughed and laughed and nearly caused a disturbance. haha Dad was just as serious as can be about the whole thing. I thought it was my MOTHER that could tell a story without laughing and bring us all to tears but Dad was just as good in his old age.
I was glad when it was time to leave the restaurant because I couldn't take much more of Dad's antics. My stomach hurt and I needed a break!
I tried to get my camera out to video tape this but the battery was going dead and I was laughing so hard I couldn't even find the camera icon because of the tears in my eyes.

We got home and Dad was wide awake, something unusual....and he was sitting in his chair in his bedroom. I had told him to stay in that chair and do not try to get out of it with the footrest up. There were a couple times I had to go in his room to see what he was yelling about....once it was because he needed to get out of the chair to go see that man that told him he needed to change the oil in the car.....so like a dummy I ask WHAT CAR ? Never did get an answer for that cause Dad just changes mid stream and brings up something else. He gets mad at me cause I won't go talk to the MAN about the oil.

About an hour later I hear him yelling my name outside my office door....like in a panic. I open my office door, which I shut while Daisy is with me cause she "wanders" and there he is unassisted standing with his walker, eyes wide open and in a panic....saying,

"That hound dog is trying to get out of the fence." There is no way he could see that from his chair....and NOT ONLY THAT, Daisy, the hound dog, was with ME in my office with the door closed. He thought that she was in the back yard trying to dig under the fence to get to the other side.

Corey comes down the hall from his room to see what was going on and asked Dad why was he walking around without anyone to help....and he said, "Do you still have your dog?"
So Corey and I try to pull out of him what in the heck is he talking about. He just started to say the same thing over and over about how she {Daisy} got out even though SHE was under his feet at the time while he was being led back to the sofa to sit down.
I left the room to attend to Daisy and Corey comes to the laundry room where I am and tells me that Grandpa is wondering we overfed the chickens????
Yes, I said CHICKENS. What chickens?
We don't own any chickens, Corey said to Dad.....Dad thought that Corey said KNOW any chickens....and Corey continued with we don't know any chickens either.
Dad said, "I DO!" Corey inquired while laughing, "WHAT CHICKENS DO YOU KNOW?"
Then Dad seriously as can be told Corey, "A man my age whose last name was Pickens." So apparently Dad knows a guy HIS AGE called CHICKEN PICKENS.

{Folks....I can't make stuff up....this is exactly how Dad tells it.} We laughed and laughed.....and finally got Dad to laugh along.

At this point I think even HE thinks it is ridiculous!! I just told him to go to sleep...I am tired. Take a nap Dad so we all can get some REST!

In a few moments Corey was back in my office telling me that Dad is still going on about how the chickens are trying to get into the house. He is really having one of those days in which the mind is working faster than he can keep up with it.