This last week my father has been more fun than usual. He thinks he is funny anyway. I wish I was carrying my camera with me because he definitely has been doing silly things. I guess this is the cute side of having a parent that you need to care for like a child. It is my reward for being woken up every 1 1/2 hours by him some nights.
Of course it is during these late night disturbances that he can be his silliest. I do all I can to ensure his privacy. There are things I don't need to see, and if I have seen them that does not mean I want to see them again. So I have gotten very good at looking up and making sure doors or curtains are closed. My parents don't have a door on their bathroom upstairs. Instead they have a set of curtains on a curtain rod so he can get in and out of the bathroom from his bedroom and not bump into the door. Did I mention the curtains are a bit on the sheer side?
I have gotten pretty good at directing Dad out of his room, into the bathroom, and back to his bed. While he is in there I stay nearby because I know he has to get back to bed (because I want to go back to bed). Last night he called me while he was in the bathroom. First question I asked was "Are you zipped up?" "Yes." So I opened the curtain. There is my 78 year old father with his thumb on his nose and wiggling his fingers in the air. He was giggling and I swear he was dancing while doing it. Silly!
Of course some of the silly things are because he can't see or because of the strokes he had last year. He isn't trying to be silly but he sure appreciates the humor after the fact. One day he called me all upset because he couldn't figure out how to put his pants on. First thing I noticed was that he already was wearing pants. Why was he trying to put another pair of pants on. I tried to explain this to him but he was bound and determined to put those pants on. Sometimes it is just easier to let him try and then steer him in the right direction after he realizes that it won't work.
I showed him where the waist was and where the legs were. Then he took the pants and started to put his arms in the leg holes and put them on over his head. Yes, my father was trying to wear his pants as a shirt. Now I understood his problem and could get him a shirt. Then Dad understood what he was doing and laughed so hard that it was several minutes before he calmed down enough to put the shirt on.
Today he was having trouble with his words. Sometimes he gets frustrated and gives up. Sometimes I can figure it out and steer him in the right direction. This time I was perplexed. Eventually he managed to get what he wanted to say across but this is how it went.
Dad: "You need to go to the store."
Me: "What store?"
Dad: "The store where they sell men to women."
Me: "The what? They sell What?"
Dad: "You buy the men."
Now I want to know where this store is? Of course I need to know their return and exchange policy. Finally through some questions while I tried not to laugh I found out that he wanted a bag to carry his meds around. Once I knew what he wanted he understood what he had said earlier and I am not sure who was laughing more, me or him.
We do have some fun in the house. Some of it is planned but a lot of it is spontaneous and just pure silliness. We have to be silly so we don't focus on the bad. Embrace the sillies!
Of course it is during these late night disturbances that he can be his silliest. I do all I can to ensure his privacy. There are things I don't need to see, and if I have seen them that does not mean I want to see them again. So I have gotten very good at looking up and making sure doors or curtains are closed. My parents don't have a door on their bathroom upstairs. Instead they have a set of curtains on a curtain rod so he can get in and out of the bathroom from his bedroom and not bump into the door. Did I mention the curtains are a bit on the sheer side?
I have gotten pretty good at directing Dad out of his room, into the bathroom, and back to his bed. While he is in there I stay nearby because I know he has to get back to bed (because I want to go back to bed). Last night he called me while he was in the bathroom. First question I asked was "Are you zipped up?" "Yes." So I opened the curtain. There is my 78 year old father with his thumb on his nose and wiggling his fingers in the air. He was giggling and I swear he was dancing while doing it. Silly!
Of course some of the silly things are because he can't see or because of the strokes he had last year. He isn't trying to be silly but he sure appreciates the humor after the fact. One day he called me all upset because he couldn't figure out how to put his pants on. First thing I noticed was that he already was wearing pants. Why was he trying to put another pair of pants on. I tried to explain this to him but he was bound and determined to put those pants on. Sometimes it is just easier to let him try and then steer him in the right direction after he realizes that it won't work.
I showed him where the waist was and where the legs were. Then he took the pants and started to put his arms in the leg holes and put them on over his head. Yes, my father was trying to wear his pants as a shirt. Now I understood his problem and could get him a shirt. Then Dad understood what he was doing and laughed so hard that it was several minutes before he calmed down enough to put the shirt on.
Today he was having trouble with his words. Sometimes he gets frustrated and gives up. Sometimes I can figure it out and steer him in the right direction. This time I was perplexed. Eventually he managed to get what he wanted to say across but this is how it went.
Dad: "You need to go to the store."
Me: "What store?"
Dad: "The store where they sell men to women."
Me: "The what? They sell What?"
Dad: "You buy the men."
Now I want to know where this store is? Of course I need to know their return and exchange policy. Finally through some questions while I tried not to laugh I found out that he wanted a bag to carry his meds around. Once I knew what he wanted he understood what he had said earlier and I am not sure who was laughing more, me or him.
We do have some fun in the house. Some of it is planned but a lot of it is spontaneous and just pure silliness. We have to be silly so we don't focus on the bad. Embrace the sillies!
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