Sunday, February 12, 2012

Where have I been?

Finally, a little time alone with my computer.


I've been a busy boy with moving my father into the new house.
First we had to make sure that everything was ready for his arrival. 
That's when we noticed all the things that needed to be fixed in the house.
All the communication wires had been cut. So even though there were jacks, there were no wires behind those jacks. We've replaced the roof, the living room floor, had electricians, plumbers, handymen and everyone else out to the house. Finally, we were ready.
 This is Dad's new room. It's bigger than it appears here. I've had apartments that were smaller than this room. It's right off the main entrance to the house and has nice hardwood floors and double french doors leading in to it. We've added closets and there's plenty of room for his bed, TV, two comfy chairs and plenty of room to spare.
 We hired movers for all the heavy things. It's amazing how much my mother had collected over the years.
 After everything was moved, we were left with the task of sorting through it all. Here's Dad trying to make sense of the next box. This box had some of his memorabilia in it. When he found his old sailor cap from World War Two Navy, he placed it on his head and wore it for the rest of the day.
I get the feeling that we will be sorting through boxes for years to come. Meanwhile, we are trying to make life in the new house as comfortable as possible for him.

The biggest trick has been trying to keep him busy. We are all taking our turn at doing things with him. As some of you that take care of your aging parents know, sometimes it can be a patience testing endeavour.
One day last week, I had to return the limousine to Port Huron where it is kept in the funeral home garage and asked Dad to accompany me. He eagerly joined me for the ride. After making the switch of cars, we headed over to the waterfront and enjoyed lunch at the new maritime museum. It over looks the river that separates Michigan from Ontario, Canada. Near every table inside is a display like this one made up of things that have been found in the river over the years.


 It was a cold day and the ships are not running the Great Lakes right now so there wasn't very much activity on the river. In the summer, you can watch the ships navigate from the large expanse of Lake Huron into the narrow twisting river.  If left to me to drive one of those things, we'd end up like that cruise ship in Italy. So I'll stick to driving my hearse and limousine, thank you.
I have made time for other things too. And we've been extremely busy with all that. I will post more of the daily goings-on in the next few days. And there may even be some big news in the making about my career. I'm still working out the details, so I'll keep you posted as I know more.
For those of you that have inquired where I've been, Thank you for your concern. And for all of you that have stuck by me through this past year of many changes, I send you a great big hug and Thank You too.

6 comments:

Admin said...

Jeez Stew, make me feel guilty again for never posting on my blog :-)

That's very good of you to help your dad like that. I have a few relatives approaching that stage of life and the topic has been on my mind lately.

We're dropping Little E off with my parents in Charleston next week and looking forward to three days of adult time at Disney. Maybe I'll actually post some pics.

John Going Gently said...

good to see you back

MorningAJ said...

I wondered where you were. We've missed you. Welcome back.

Unknown said...

We do want to see pics. We'll have to go out when you get back and discuss our trips.

Jim said...

Stew, you HAVE been busy! I Do know about the patience required when looking after an aging parent...or even non-parent. I think it comes with age....losing patience and they can be quite demanding. Hm-m-m, something to look forward to?!

I'd love to see that museum with all the artifacts from the river! Amazing what you can find.

Good luck with the job-changing status. Good to hear from you.

Unknown said...

As we sort through everything, it makes me think about my own things and contemplate if the small amount that I've accumulated is neccisary. I even think twice before making purchases.