Can We Talk 2

Winter Is Back!

         Just as we're gearing up for an early Easter, learning music for church, buying toys and baskets, or planning weekend vacations, the temperature has plummeted! Threats of snow for this weekend are coming from the TV set. Brrrr! I can't get warm.

         Yet, I'm still thinking about planting the garden and wondering how I'll have time for harvesting, weeding, watering, etc. Planting is the easy, exciting part. Since my Dad retire, actually a bit before that, it seems like my life has gotten busier. Minding the calendar is a daily chore. He's getting confused about things, too. I think it's mostly the hearing problems. His doctor says he has no signs of dementia. No one in his family ever has had any.

         I went with him to a hearing test Monday for a possible cochlear implant. I figured it was just a remote possibility. If he was approved, he wouldn't like it. (He's not a candidate.) But I had to go to work in the middle of the lengthy test, so my brother and his 3 year old son went, too. I showed them where the building was, registered him, and got them oriented for the visit to the doctor upstairs an hour after the test. When I got home late Monday night, all he could tell me was that he was angry because they didn't know anything about his throat. I told him the throat test is next week. The follow up visit to that same office for the throat doctor would be next week. He was confused about the appointment and what he was supposed to be doing.

         He wants to go to a funeral Saturday. I'd like to go, too, but I have to work. He admitted he can't drive that far. It's where his parents and grandparents are buried, in an area he's been driving for over 70 years. I'm glad he's realizing he has some limitations. He can't hear. His peripheral vision is getting smaller. He limits himself to daytime driving on routes he's familiar with and travels regularly. When he has to stop all driving, I will not be able to work.

         We muddle through from day to day.I'm getting older myself. My body knows how old I am, but my mind just refuses to accept it.