Never Enough!

Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him. Proverbs 29: 20

The evening that I had gone to see Dad with my daughter and her kids, he called me. That's nothing out of the ordinary. We talk to each other every day. That is, every day his phone is charged and that he answers it. This call was a little different.

 After talking for a while, most of our calls are fraught with his trying to hear me although I'm on speaker phone. He often holds his cell phone in the middle which invariably turns the volume down on his phone. Once we could hear each other, we talked about what a nice visit we had earlier in the day.

 When the conversation is nearing  it's end, Dad asked if I'm on my way over. I explained that it was dark. I told him I had been there two days prior to then and had been there earlier in the day. I told him that I understood that it's not the same as when he was in the same town where I could go visit him every day and the grandkids could visit semi-regularly. I was telling him that we can't come every day, because the Veteran's Home is one hour a way, two hours round trip.  

 That logic didn't satisfy Dad. Then, he said something about his not being important enough! I tried to empathize, but he was just lonely.  Explaining that he has more company than most any of the other residents on his hall and how fortunate he is, doesn't faze him. I wish I could be there for Dad all he wants me to be, but it's just not possible, but I do my best. 

 In my mind, I wondered why he would be so lonely when we had visited him the same day. I think that when you are lonely, you just are. It defies all logic. We are very blessed to have this time with Dad, even when he wants us to come back after we've just been there.
Since these are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my experience, they may not reflect the whole meaning of the verse.

I'm including You Tube Video clips on caregiving that I found interesting, inspirational, or might be helpful to others, but am not responsible for the content in the videos. Always check first with a physician before trying any suggestions mentioned.

Caregiving Video: Physical Thereapy Exercises for Seniors: Core Strength Exercises at Home
By: Dr. Steve Sudell Jr., 24Hr HomeCare, via You Tube

A Visit to See Grandpa

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

My daughter and her kids went with me to see Dad. They miss seeing Grandpa, because for the first year he lived here, they got to see him almost every day. We've all missed him being here, but know that his being in the Veteran's Home has been very beneficial for him, although it's an hour away.

 The grandkids were so excited to see Grandpa. He played dominoes, but one of the grandsons gave him a run for his money. Dad always likes a challenging game, so he was happy with that. It was a close game, but Dad won. He doesn't sugar coat his domino games and uses every strategy he has at his disposal. The grandkids have to try to out maneuver Grandpa, which makes for a fun challenging game!

  They were so glad that they were able to get to visit Grandpa. These precious kids keep him in their prayers. Dad has touched all of our lives in so many ways!
Since these are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my experience, they may not reflect the whole meaning of the verse.

I'm including You Tube Video clips on caregiving that I found interesting, inspirational, or might be helpful to others, but am not responsible for the content in the videos. Always check first with a physician before trying any suggestions mentioned.

Caregiving Video: Balance Exercise for Seniors
By: Margaret Martin via You Tube


A Busy Christmas

The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head. Proverbs 20:29

Sometimes, it's difficult to make choices! I want to do it all! We started Christmas morning out at my daughter's house. We got to watch the grandkiddos open the remaining presents and had brunch with them.

 Then, we left in time to have Christmas lunch with Dad at the Veteran's Home. Lunch is when they usually have the meal for the holiday and we try to be with Dad on the special holidays, if at all possible. We played some solitaire while waiting for the lunch.

 After visiting with Dad for a while, we headed back to have dinner with my daughter's family. Everything was yummy and I ate far too much! Afterward, we headed home. Although we were really tired when we got home, we really enjoyed getting to do a little of all of it. We are really blessed to get to have this extra time with Dad!

Since these are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my experience, they may not reflect the whole meaning of the verse.

I'm including You Tube Video clips on caregiving that I found interesting, inspirational, or might be helpful to others, but am not responsible for the content in the videos. Always check first with a physician before trying any suggestions mentioned.

Caregiving Video: Grab Bar Installation for an Accessible Bathroom
By: Lowe's Home Improvement via You Tube

A 50/50 Visit

A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it! Proverbs 15: 23

I needed to deliver gifts to my son's family, but they live quite a distance away. We decided to meet at Dad's Veteran's Home which is about midway. We ordered lunch and ate with him in a room that adjoins the dining hall. That made our lunch with Dad a little more private. 

 We played some dominoes with Dad while we waited for the lunches to be delivered. Dad's the Domino Champ, so you have to get up pretty early to fool Dad. We had a great time, a great lunch and they even posed for me to take some pictures. I was a happy camper!

 This 50/50 visit at the Veteran's Home worked out for all involved. Dad enjoyed getting to have all of us visit at the same time. It wasn't as far for any of us to drive in the potentially bad weather. We'll have to try this from time-to-time, because it really worked out well. We are all very blessed to have this extra time with Dad!
Since these are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my experience, they may not reflect the whole meaning of the verse.

I'm including You Tube Video clips on caregiving that I found interesting, inspirational, or might be helpful to others, but am not responsible for the content in the videos. Always check first with a physician before trying any suggestions mentioned.

Caregiving Video: Home Security for the Elderly
By: info4yourlife, FYL, Irene Ornella, Gregory Kis via You Tube

A Trip with Dad, with Some Adjustments

Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Ephesians 6: 1

My husband and I talked about what we needed to do in order maximize the potential of Dad's success in a trip to see his cousins. We knew we would need to bring some oxygen in case Dad might need it, from our experience of Dad getting short of breath during our practice run.

 Also, hotel beds are usually pretty high and Dad's used to having a hospital bed in the Veteran's Home that goes up and down. When we had taken Dad on previous trips, my husband and I have lifted Dad up onto the bed, but I have a bad back and herniated disks in my neck. 

 My husband and I discussed a plan and looked on Google Maps and tried to pace it out. We figured that if we stayed over night at a local hotel and picked Dad up first thing in the morning, we could drive all day to get to the state where his cousins live and meet with them. In doing this, we could get by with only spending one night in a hotel. That meant that we only had to lift Dad into the hotel bed one night instead of the usual two to three times. We were please and thought this was doable.

 We packed Dad's clothes the night before our trip. We made the arrangements to get the oxygen, get his meds the next morning. We met with his cousins and he had a great time! I'm so glad that we had the oxygen. He needed the oxygen almost every time he got back into the car for a while until he got stabilized. We were all very happy that taking trips with Dad were still possible with some adjustments. Yeah!!! I have been very blessed to have all this extra time with my Dad!

Since these are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my experience, they may not reflect the whole meaning of the verse.

I'm including You Tube Video clips on caregiving that I found interesting, inspirational, or might be helpful to others, but am not responsible for the content in the videos. Always check first with a physician before trying any suggestions mentioned.

Caregiving Video: #21.5 Special Needs and Accidents: Elderly Home Safety (5 of 5) 
By: Mary Alexander, Home Instead Senior Care, Caregiver Stress via You Tube


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