Where do you live?

Pop has no short term memory left.  He still knows me, Wayne, my brother and his wife.  But, that's about it. We leave this picture of where I live by the telephone, so when I call I can remind him to look at the picture.  "That's where I live, Pop."  "How about that.  How's the weather," he says.  Last week when I called him from California, after about 5 minutes, he said, "To whom am I talking to?"  I said, "It's me Dad, your daughter Suzanne."  "Oh my, he said, someone might call me forgetful."
He can't watch movies because by the time the commercial break is over he can't remember what the movie is about.  He CAN watch Funniest Home Videos and The Antique Road Show over and over again.  It doesn't matter if it's the same episode; each time Dad views it, it is a whole new episode for him.

Don't think for a moment Pop doesn't love life.  He is an officer, a gentleman, the best husband in the world to our Mom who passed away, and we couldn't ask for a better father.  So what if he has no short term memory?
He is courteous, loving, and happy to be alive.  The one part of the day that Dad loves is reading the morning newspaper.  Most of the time he just reads the headlines and a few paragraphs.  He always finds a headline that didn't use correct verbage.  Pop hates people who slaughter the English language.  He says, "Forgive them for they know not what they do."

This is a picture I took of Dad this afternoon. We went on an outing to the ocean which is only minutes from his house.  My gosh, it always amazes me just how BLUE the water is here!  When I put Pop's Alzheimer patch on him last night, he asked, "What's that for?  I told him it was his brain patch.  "What's that do?"  "Well, it supposed to improve your memory."  "Better send it back to the manufacturer, because it isn't working," he quipped!  God love him.

On the way home from the beach and grocery shopping,we stopped by the cemetery which is just a few minutes from his house.  We stopped in to pay our respects to Mom and her parents, my grandparents.  Dad looked at the gravestone and seemed somewhat perplexed that his name was on the marker right above Mom's name.  He gave a big laugh and said, "Heck, all I have to do now is lie down on the ground."  We both had a good laugh.  Everyone in this family has a great sense of humor.

I'm not looking forward to going home.  I never know if my Dad will be here for my next trip.  We had such a great day today.  I took time to give him a manicure.  I got a little teary eyed, because when I gave  Mom a pedicure when she was critically ill, she passed away the very next morning.  It brought back those memories.  It makes me value what time I have left with my father. He is such a handsome, wonderful  man.  I'm a bit teary eyed thinking about going home.  I'll try to get back down in January or February.