Our celebration was held at Glenda's house. Mom had toyed with the idea of having us all gather at their house, but then decided she'd like to come and go at their leisure! We all got to Glenda's about 11:00 and were concerned when Mom called and said that Dad was having some dizziness. She had him resting in his chair with hopes that he would feel better once she was ready to go. Thankfully, he was feeling much better after he rested, so they were able to come! Glenda lives off 71 west in South Austin, so it's not a bad drive for them from Marble Falls.
Dad really enjoyed getting loving attention from the four of us kids, our spouses, and the grand kids and great-grand kids that were there. We were all also thrilled that Troy and Terri were able to join us! Dad gets a big kick out of watching 3 year olds Mia and Austin and their antics! They play so well together and are quite entertaining! We all marveled at Glenda's prolific garden and thoroughly enjoyed fresh tomatoes on our burgers! She was also generous with all of us and sent us home with bags of fresh produce! YUM!!!
We girls had a little "meeting" with Mom to see if she will let us do more to help her. She said that she would be willing to let us take Dad to one of his therapy sessions each week. He is now going Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Of course, we are thrilled to do so! We also suggested that she allow Jerry, their part-time aide, to take Dad on at least one of the other days. Her reasoning in not letting him take Dad is that she hates to pay him to" just sit there" while Dad is in therapy! We said that we thought they could afford that and, whatever it cost, it was worthwhile if it gave her a break! She chuckled at herself and reminded us of how tight she is!!! I've never thought of Mom as tight, but she is very, very frugal!
Tomorrow, I am going to get Dad and take him to therapy. I'm excited about that because I'll get to witness what happens there and then blog about it! Jean is going to go Wednesday and give Mom a chance to pack for Colorado without interruption.
We are witnessing some progress with this round of therapy and with the re-introduction of acupuncture! Today, Dad called Jean over to the window and pointed to a couple of cars that he didn't recognize. He was saying the letter "M", which is new! Another big improvement we've noticed is Dad's control over his mouth and face. Not to sound disrespectful, but Dad has been having a problem with drooling. I did not see him drool one time today and Mom said it has been that way since she started taking him for acupuncture treatments! Dad was very resistant to acupuncture while in the hospital and when he first got to go home. However, he now gives it the big thumbs up!!!
When Mom and Dad were leaving, I leaned in to the suburban and told Dad that I loved him. Mom told him to tell me and he did, in his own way! She said she gets him to tell her he loves her every night when he goes to bed! For the 64 years that they have been married, they have never gone to sleep without a good-night's kiss and without saying "I love you" to each other! Theirs is a great example to follow!!!
Mom, Dad, Lisa and Danny and Ollie and I leave Thursday morning for our trip to Fran and Jimmy Callahan's lodge outside Steamboat Springs Colorado! Mom is a little bit nervous about having to be at our house by 8:15 Thursday morning, especially since Dad likes to sleep until at least 9:00! I tried to talk her in to coming here to spend Wednesday night, but she said it will be better to sleep in their own bed that night and leave from home that morning. It made her feel a little better when I reminded her that she and Dad could nap on the 2-hour flight from Austin to Denver and on the 4 hour drive from Denver to the lodge. Keep your fingers crossed that they make it here on time!
Dad will spend Friday and Saturday with the guys on the golf course. If he gets tired, we girls can go pick him up. Otherwise, Mom, Lisa and I are going to be lazy and do nothing but relax, read and/or go for little walks! I can hardly wait!!! Mom does want to go to Wal-Mart in Steamboat and see if they have long-sleeved collared golf-type shirts for Dad. We have looked and looked, but there are none to be found in Austin or Marble Falls - it's just not the right season for long sleeves down here! If we don't find them in Colorado, I'll do some on-line shopping.
Again, God bless all you wonderful Dads! I honor all of you!
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