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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.
a cute video
Attison loves Sesame Street. It’s the only television show she watches. Of course, the fact that she’s not quite 7 months old, and that she doesn’t watch any other tv shows, may have something to do with that. 
But still, she really does love Sesame Street. I can tell she’s paying attention because she kicks her feet, waves her arms and tries to sing along. It’s SO cute!
I am once again becoming a Sesame Street connoisseur. We watch Sesame Street every morning, from 7:00 to 8:00 am on the Sprout channel. Sesame Street is one of those timeless shows ~ the kids they show on the playground or jumping rope on the street could be from any year between 1968 and 2008. Seriously, the only way I’m ever able to tell the age of a particular Sesame Street episode is by the age of the guests. My friend Holly posted a “Who Are the People In Your Neighborhood” video on her blog ~ Bob sings the song, and the first guest is a very young Martina Navratolova (I’m sure I spelled that incorrectly ~ my apologies Martina). I can’t tell you exactly what year that segment was filmed, but I know it was a while ago. The second guest is Barbara Walters, who (quite honestly) looks very much then like she does now (she must have a great plastic surgeon!!).
Holly included a link to a Ben Stiller version of “Who Are the People In Your Neighborhood” ~ I liked it better. I love the last line ~ something like, “Let that be a lesson to all of us. Never dress like a cheese at lunchtime.” LOL Seriously, you HAVE to watch it!
Now I have that silly song stuck in my head. The only thing worse would be Ernie singing “Rubber Duckie.” Oh great… now I’m going to have THAT one stuck in my head, too!
spying
This one cracks me up. It’s from my mom’s slide collection. Check out the doorway just to my mom’s right (your left)….
(That’s me hiding in the doorway. I don’t know when this was taken, but my guess would be that I was about 4 or 5 years old…)
pumpkin patch slideshow
I put a few of the pictures I took yesterday into a slideshow. I took over 100 pictures, but I only chose a few of the best ones for the slideshow. Somehow I managed to catch some really funny looks on the teenagers’ faces ~ these kids are wonderful, kind and a joy to be around. They also crack me up…
my 95 lb. dog is afraid of thunderstorms
couch monkeys
My couch monkeys and their favorite sidekick….
9 phrases women use
I received this in an email ~ the author is unknown (but obviously, the author was a man!). I’m posting it because….well, because it made me laugh. And to be honest, it’s mostly true!
9 WORDS (OR PHRASES) WOMEN USE
1) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.
(2) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.
(3) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine (refer to #1).
(4) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don’t Do It!
(5) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.)
6) That’s Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That’s okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.
(7) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or faint. Just say you’re welcome. (I want to add in a clause here – This is true, unless she says ‘Thanks a lot’ – that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say ‘you’re welcome’ … that will bring on a ‘whatever’).
(8) Whatever: This is a woman’s way of saying Yeah, ok you imbecile ~ I’m tired of dealing with you. It’s usually preceeded or followed by a loud sigh. (Refer to #5)
(9) Don’t worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement,meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking ‘What’s wrong?’ For the woman’s response refer to # 3.
* Send this to the men you know, to warn them about arguments they can avoid if they remember the terminology. Consider taping to the refrigerator! *
* Send this to all the women you know to give them a good laugh, because they know it’s true. *
parody on "glamorous"
LOL Ok, if I ever needed any proof that my oldest son is a total goof, I definitely have it now.
He and the other kids at his high school who live on the 5th floor made this video ~ a parody on Fergie’s “Glamorous”. My son is the white boy on the left gettin’ his groove-thang on right towards the beginning of the video. Towards the middle of the video (if you last that long) is a white girl in a light colored shirt ~ that’s Patrick’s girlfriend Ariel.
You wouldn’t think these kids would have enough time to come up with something like this since it is, after all, a “smart kid” school ~ shouldn’t they be DOING calculus rather than singing and making a video about it??!!!
Let me add this disclaimer ~ since this video is on YouTube, I have no control over what ever else may come up on the page.
the one where sawyer runs away
I finally found the picture of Sawyer running away! He was 2 1/2 years old. We were living in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in the first house we ever bought. Sawyer was mad at us for something ~ I don’t even remember what. But he decided he’d had enough of whatever it was. He went into his room and got out his little suitcase (you can see part of “Going to Grandma’s” on the side of the suitcase ~ too cute!). He packed his footie pajamas, blankie, teddy bear, a couple of books and some Hot Wheels. Then he declared, “I’m going to live with Miss Christy!” Christy was our next door neighbor. She loved our boys and spoiled them rotten. Sawyer figured if he went to live with her he’d get his way all the time (which was pretty much true!).
what the wild west would’ve been like……
with shetland ponies. Oh my goodness ~ I laughed so hard I snorted when I watched this short video……..Enjoy!