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that’s his story
Tonight we ate dinner at one of my dad’s favorite restaurants, The Dixie Cafe.
Oh, have I mentioned that my dad packed up his belongings and moved to Washington? Without telling us?
Dad moved to Arkansas 4 years ago because he needed someone close by to help him. He’s almost 81 years old now, he has Parkinson’s disease, and he tends to fall down a lot. A couple of months ago he fell while shopping at Wal-Mart. They called an ambulance, and Dad ended up with some nasty bruises, a cut over his left eye that had to be stitched up, and a few other minor injuries.
When all of that happened, he didn’t call us and tell us what was going on. Basically what it all boils down to is that my dad is a hard headed, stubborn old man whose pride won’t allow him to ever admit he has done anything wrong or that he needs someone else’s help.
It was obvious not just to Roger and me, but to everyone else who had any kind of contact with him, that he needed to be in a place where he could maintain some measure of independence and still have people to help him clean, do laundry, bathe, pick him up when he falls down……that kind of thing. When I suggested he look into retirement/assisted living facilities he got very angry and told me he’d DIE before he went to “one of those places.”
One evening he and I were talking on the phone, and he told me that he had given his doctor medical power of attorney. He told me that his doctor wasn’t just an MD, but an attorney as well, and he had all the papers in his office for dad to sign ~ they got it all taken care of in the blink of an eye. I told my dad that sounded a little fishy to me, and I wanted to check with my attorney to make sure this guy was legitimate. That sent my dad off into one of his rages, and he hung up on me.
The next day Dad called Roger and told him this outrageous story about how I threatened to take legal action against him, and that I wanted to put him “away” so that I wouldn’t have to bother with him anymore. Roger told Dad that wasn’t the case, but my dad refused to listen (which is nothing new for my dad ~ he rarely listens to anyone). He also told Roger that I had been disrespectful to him and I owed him an apology ~ he said he wasn’t going to speak to me again until I apologized. Hmmmmm.
The next thing we know, he has packed up all of his belongings and moved to a retirement/assisted living facility in Washington!
The only reason we found out he was gone was that it had been so long since we’d heard from him that we decided to check on him. His cell phone number had been disconnected, so Roger drove over to Dad’s apartment. Guess what. Dad was gone. Apparently he moved a few weeks ago ~ I don’t know how, or who helped him or anything else. All I know is that he packed up his stuff and drove up to Washington. He’s living in an assisted living facility that sounds quite nice, actually.
The funny thing is that he still hasn’t contacted us to let us know he left. Isn’t that sad? I think it’s funny and sad all at the same time. The stubborn old coot just left Arkansas behind and us with it. We were the only family he had. I’m an only child ~ he disowned his kids from his first marriage (although I have no idea why). My mom divorced him long ago; even so, she’s in an Alzheimer’s facility and doesn’t even remember who he is at this point. He has one friend in the entire world who has stuck with him for a long time ~ no one else has been able (or willing?) to do that. And now he has alienated himself from the only child he had left, and the only grandchildren and great grandchildren he’ll ever have. We know he’s in Washington, and we know he’s in what sounds like a nice assisted living facility. That’s all. No phone number, no email address, no physical address, nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch.
All I can do is shake my head and chuckle because, whether he likes to admit it or not, he did exactly the thing I was suggesting he do! Amazing.
day two of conference
I am enjoying the A Woman Inspired online conference very much. All of the speakers have been wonderful ~ and it’s really fun to have the ability to “chat” with other women during the presentations via IM/chat box! There’s also a private social networking site which makes it easy to see other people’s bios.
I’m thankful that all of the presentations will be available for download as I’ve had to miss some of them. At times it can be difficult to be online while taking care of an infant!
coach
Look what my mom-in-law gave me for Christmas :
Do you know how much I love purses? For some women it’s shoes ~ but for me it’s purses. And one can never have too many Coach purses as far as I’m concerned!
Roger’s mom got the exact right thing for me. 
Thanks, Mom!!
grace to you
Grace to You has opened the vaults ~ they’ve released their entire inventory of Dr. John MacArthur’s sermons in MP3 format for download ~ free!
John and Grace to You management have made this change because we believe that in uncertain times—an historic presidential election, a struggling economy, and multiplying threats to peace and stability around the world—there’s no reason to restrict the message of the gospel and its eternal certainty to those who can afford to pay for it or to those whose governments allow it….Please pray for His blessing as we step out in boldness to penetrate past economic and political barriers globally so that the glory of God’s name might be expanded exponentially.
Just click here to go to the Grace to You website ~ you’ll find the link to the sermon vault there!
good news!
Roger is coming up on retirement from the Air Force. In March he’ll be able to take terminal leave, and in June he will officially retire. He has been a little concerned lately about getting a job that will start right away ~ we have friends who have retired from the AF and been out of a job for a year before finding something that they’re not overqualified for and that pays decently!
Yesterday Roger was offered a job! I can’t give any details out yet, but if he wants this particular job, it’s his. So now we just need to know if that’s the route God has for us, or if He has something else in mind. We have a lot of praying about this left to do ahead of us ~ but Roger feels a million times better just knowing there’s a job with his name on in if he needs it!
win a free hand bag!
I just signed up to win a free hand bag at Handbag Planet. You can enter, too! Just go to www.handbagplanet.com to register ~ it’s free, easy, and quick!
cd winners
I apologize for not posting the winners of the Ayiesha Woods CD drawings on Sunday. I was not feeling well yesterday, at all…
The winners of the Ayiesha Woods CD drawing are Delaney and Patty! Congrats, ladies! I will send you each an email and get your mailing addresses.
I have another great giveaway coming, and some really fantastic news to pass along, too ~ so check back soon!
cd giveaway
Gotee Records has graciously sent me two CDs of recording artist Ayiesha Woods’ new release, “Love Like This”. To hear some of her music, select a song from the box below, and be sure to turn your speakers up, ’cause Ayiesha’s good!
I will be giving away both brand new CDs ~ if you would like to be entered in the giveaway, just send me an email. You’ll find my email address on my profile page here.
I know I do giveaways a little differently than most, but I have found that if I do it this way ~ by having you send me an email ~ I receive less spam. For some reason the spammers seem to love giveaways! I realize going to my profile to get my email address is just an extra step you have to take, but I do appreciate your efforts ~ and hopefully you’ll be rewarded by winning one of these fantastic music CDs!
This giveaway is open to everyone, worldwide ~ and it’s free (I will pay the cost of sending the CDs to the winners, no matter where they are). The drawing is open now through Saturday, September 27. I will draw two winners on Sunday, Spetember 28.
wild goose chase winner
Congratulations to Lindsey ~ her name was drawn as the winner of the Wild Goose Chase giveaway.
Don’t worry if you didn’t win this time ~ I have some pretty exciting giveaways coming up over the next month, so check back often!
hotm conference
My friend Tamara @ Training Hearts is giving away 5 chances to win a ticket for the Heart of the Matter online’s virtual conference:
Shhhh! Do you hear that? It is the comfort of your home calling you. PJs, coffee, or tea (your flavor), and five fun filled days just for you!
In Heart of the Matter Online’s
(http://heartofthematteronline.com/) quest to bring you the absolute best home school resource online, they have listened to your requests and are providing you with a fun filled online adventure! On July 30th through August 3rd, they will be hosting Heart of the Matter Online’s first annual Virtual Homeschool Conference! They will be providing the attendees with motivational speakers, video tutorials, free products, question and answer sessions, and a vendor hall – all ONLINE! Just log on and listen live during that time or log in at your convenience and download the audios.
This conference will be less like a “seminar” and more like a bunch of close friends in a chat room. Just wait till you see what some of your favorite home school personalities (http://www.hotmconference.com/2008/03/2008-speakers.html) have done to educate and entertain you! At the end you will join in to chat with them, ask questions, and they will answer.
{Click on graphic above to get the Early Bird Special!}
To ensure your spot in the conference room and to take advantage of the early bird special. Simply, visit the Heart of the Matter Online Conference (http://www.hotmconference.com) site and click the “pay now” button. At $19.95 these prices won’t last long! This $19.95 includes a fabulous $30 package from Currclick: curriculum in a click! Currclick (formerly HomeschoolEstore) is the largest one-stop shop for electronic lapbooks, affordable curriculum, and homeschooling resources.
If you would like to be entered in Tamara’s drawing, click here.