Dad Turned 85 This Year!

Two months have flashed by since my last update! Time...a valuable and limited resource. For my Dad, time is but fragments of a full life he once knew. He no longer knows what year or day it is; all he knows is that something is wrong. "I don't know what's happening," he says every time we visit him. Yet, there are many positives! He still smiles, laughs, frowns, gives a certain roommate the "evil eye," cries (he cries a lot), enjoys eating, gets caught up in an infomercial, argues, and thanks us for visiting.

Here are some of my journal entries since my last post:

June 1: Dad's was not in a good mood when we arrived and he stayed that way throughout our visit. He was upset that I took is his picture. I called Joyce and he started to weep. He kept closing his eyes, I thinks he wants us to go away.

June 12: We arrived around 5:30 p.m., just before his dinner arrived. I didn't get a welcoming smile, just a mean, serious stare. I just talked to him as if we'd been talking all day. We help him with his dinner and leave..."Be careful" he says.

June 19: Today Dad turned 85 and I stopped by to see him before leaving for Portland, Oregon. It is very early in the morning and Dad is sleeping. I just watch him, give him a kiss and leave.

July 9: Had a great visit with Dad. When Shelley entered the room he greeted her as "mija." He was very talkative too. I called Aunt Noemi (his sister) and they spoke and cried. This was an "as good as it gets visit!"

Such is life with Dad these days and I'm happy that I still have him!

Here is a short video of Dad's early life and later years: