Tales From the Nursing Home

I went to visit Daddy this afternoon and found him on the floor next to his bed. He falls a lot trying to get himself out of bed without help. They have moved him to a bed that is lower to the floor and there is a mat spread out next to it to help minimize injuries. He wasn't hurt, but as I'm not able to get him up on my own I had to get help.

After he was safely in his chair I took him for a walk through the halls. He was being really uncooperative today and kept putting his feet down and trying to stand up. He also gets really concerned when there is a change to the pattern on the floor like tile changing to carpet. We had to stop and have a discussion about it every time we crossed a threshold. He kicked off his shoes at one point and that was another stop to put them back on. It turns out I don't have any patience today because this was all incredibly frustrating for me. Looking back, it's a bit like trying to push a baby that does not want to be confined to a stroller.

We finally got back to his room and I got him back into bed. Then he would not stop messing with the pillow. It's a very thick pillow and before he had a thin one that he would fold in half. This one was not going to fold, but I wasn't able to communicate that to him. I just wanted him to talk to me but the pillow was more important to him at the moment.

I told him it was time for me to leave. He said, "Well okay. Did you have fun?"

Sigh. "Yeah, Daddy, I had fun."

"Good. So did I." Then he closed his eyes and went to sleep.