These last 4 weeks have had a nightmarish quality. Dad has been in the hospital and just isn't well. We've been riding a roller coaster of good, fairly lucid days, and heartbreaking days where the man in the bed is a stranger to us all. I don't think i've ever cried so much in such a short span of time. And interestingly, there have been many laugh until I almost pee my pants kind of moments. Because when Kimberly and I spend any amount of time together, we will find something to laugh about.
It was probably a good thing Kimberly wasn't at the hospital with me this weekend, because i was having a hard enough time holding it together on my own. The man in the bed next to dad is 101 years old, slightly hard of hearing, and apparently obsessed with a clean shave. His family visits him quite regularly, and we're forced to sit in silence while they chat with him because they have to shout at him to be heard. And of course, dad talks in a whisper, so it's a perfect storm of conversation improbability. Or something. You know what i mean.
So today, Mr. Smith's daughter came to visit, and the conversation was punctuated with questions about the whereabouts of his electric razor. Daughter would ask questions about how he was sleeping, or if he had eaten, etc., and he would give a perfunctory response and then ask WHERE'S MY RAZOR? And each time, she would tell him that it was in his drawer, but apparently he was looking for a favourite razor. After about 15 minutes of DAD, WOULD YOU LIKE A GLASS OF WATER?....WATER!.... W-A-T-E-R!!...DO YOU WANT A DRINK?, interspersed with inquiries about the razor, Daughter decided to take a break and go visit her 96-year-old mom, who is a patient down the hall. Later, Daughter came back with David, the grandson. So David goes over to the bed and says HI POPPA!! HOW ARE YOU? and Poppa says WHERE'S MY RAZOR? The conversation continued in the same vein, until with the final request for the razor, David says YOU DON'T NEED A SHAVE ANYWAY, POPPA. YOU LOOK PRETTY GOOD! and Poppa says YEAH, I DO. At which point, I was just about on the floor. Daughter and grandson left, promising to look at home for the razor he wanted.
It seems odd to find so many funny things to laugh about when there is such an underlying feeling of sadness too. But i don't know how you could help but laugh at the sight of a patient sitting outside the hospital with a half full urinal bottle sitting in the basket of his scooter. And laughing just seems to make all the ups and downs more bearable.
Reading the Psalms is good, too. Here's my favourite part of Psalm 34:
Thanks for praying, friends.
It was probably a good thing Kimberly wasn't at the hospital with me this weekend, because i was having a hard enough time holding it together on my own. The man in the bed next to dad is 101 years old, slightly hard of hearing, and apparently obsessed with a clean shave. His family visits him quite regularly, and we're forced to sit in silence while they chat with him because they have to shout at him to be heard. And of course, dad talks in a whisper, so it's a perfect storm of conversation improbability. Or something. You know what i mean.
So today, Mr. Smith's daughter came to visit, and the conversation was punctuated with questions about the whereabouts of his electric razor. Daughter would ask questions about how he was sleeping, or if he had eaten, etc., and he would give a perfunctory response and then ask WHERE'S MY RAZOR? And each time, she would tell him that it was in his drawer, but apparently he was looking for a favourite razor. After about 15 minutes of DAD, WOULD YOU LIKE A GLASS OF WATER?....WATER!.... W-A-T-E-R!!...DO YOU WANT A DRINK?, interspersed with inquiries about the razor, Daughter decided to take a break and go visit her 96-year-old mom, who is a patient down the hall. Later, Daughter came back with David, the grandson. So David goes over to the bed and says HI POPPA!! HOW ARE YOU? and Poppa says WHERE'S MY RAZOR? The conversation continued in the same vein, until with the final request for the razor, David says YOU DON'T NEED A SHAVE ANYWAY, POPPA. YOU LOOK PRETTY GOOD! and Poppa says YEAH, I DO. At which point, I was just about on the floor. Daughter and grandson left, promising to look at home for the razor he wanted.
It seems odd to find so many funny things to laugh about when there is such an underlying feeling of sadness too. But i don't know how you could help but laugh at the sight of a patient sitting outside the hospital with a half full urinal bottle sitting in the basket of his scooter. And laughing just seems to make all the ups and downs more bearable.
Reading the Psalms is good, too. Here's my favourite part of Psalm 34:
The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
he delivers them from all their troubles.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Thanks for praying, friends.
