Thanks Christine and Paulie!
Paulie, I hope your mom gets better. My mom had a bladder infection that defied every attempted cure.
We visited my dad over the weekend. With rain in the forecast, we needed to arive earlier than usual so I could mow my dad's yard. With my manager's approval, we left home around 1:00pm on Friday. We arrived at my dad's house at 4:00pm. Quite a few small limbs had fallen from the trees, Susan helped pick them up as I mowed. My dad normally uses a riding mower, or his Kubota tractor, to mow the more unruly areas under the trees. The riding mower seems to be out of commission, and I've never driven his Kubota, so I did everything with a push mower. It took about 2.5 hours to mow the front yard and a small section of the back yard.
Susan and I also cleared out the kitchen cupboard. On first glance, it appeared to be well-stocked. After we disposed of all the expired products (jello - 2011, tuna fish - 2013, pancake mix - 2000, etc.), there wasn't much left -- several large boxes of 'sweet and lo', several bars of dark chocolate, and about a dozen boxes of cinnamon frosted Pop Tarts. All of the spices, except salt and pepper, expired more than 10 years ago.
We visited my dad Saturday and Sunday. He still recognizes everyone, but his momentary grasps of reality are fleeting. He still thinks he will be going home soon, and he was glad to hear that we've been taking care of the yard. We're trying to keep him happy, but it's difficult to watch someone slowly slipping away.
My dad worked most of his life. He grew up on a farm, worked the fields, hunted for food (he ate a lot of squirrel). Although he eventually had enough resources to enjoy life, he never took advantage of them. Every vacation we took was to visit a relative. Family is important, but those trips always seemed as though they were fulfilling a requirement. We never went to a beach. We never went camping. I don't remember our family ever visiting a national park, or even an amusement park. Not that long ago, my dad voiced regrets about he and mom never taking the time to enjoy what they had worked so hard to build.
Over the last year or two I have been thinking about retirement, but wasn't sure if I had the resources to do so. Seeing how quickly my dad's life changed has made me reevaluate my plans. What he leaves behind, what my dad never had the opportunity to enjoy, will be enough for Susan and I to retire. I may work another year, two at most, but then it will be time to enjoy what we (and my dad) worked so hard to build.
Love always -- Jessica Rose