Friday, January 23, 2015

A Block Off Route




Writers block?  Down in the dumps?  Not able to cope?  Depressed?  The list goes on and on naming possible reason’s why I have not posted for such a long while.  Trouble is I can't pin it down to anything in particular.  Writers block?  No, I could write....just have not felt like it.  Down in the dumps?  Perhaps, but then I'm too freaking cheerful to be that.  Not able to cope?  Been coping pretty damn well for 61 years so far...so no!  Those last two pretty well trump depressed.  So I think I will just say I took a break.

Quite recently my father who winters in Arizona at my twin brothers home finally went into a clinic to have his persistent cough checked and was immediately hospitalized with suspected pulmonary heart disease.  After a week of tests they told us his heart is fine but he has sclerosis of the liver or fatty liver disease, which he can live with.  He was put on diuretics after draining five pounds of fluid from his chest and he would have a serious change in diet; no this and no that, but at the top of the list, no salt.  A few weeks after flying back home to Portland he decided that living on his own was not an option for him so he accepted my younger brother's request and moved into his big home in Beaverton.  At 81 my father is very capable, and sees to his own daily needs, drives his own car, goes to the gym most every day and quite obviously makes big decisions and follows through.  I love my dad and am comforted that he has decided to make the changes he has made.  Selfishly though I will miss stopping by my parents house that had been their home since 1971 when we moved from England to Portland. After work I would go one block off the route home and stop at my dad’s for a visit and a glass of our favorite scotch.  Most of the rooms are empty now, leaving the stuff that will eventually end up being donated.  Between my sister, two brothers and myself we gleaned many items that will be useful in our own homes as well as the many things that simply hold special memories.  Thanks dad for all the tools, I can hardly wait to use that big pressure washer on the years of algae build up on the driveway.  And while it is not such a useful item as the pressure washer, mom’s old piggy bank has a place of honor in the front guest room.

Since he is not selling the house right away I've thoughts of planting vegetables in the garden at the back of the house.  It is too far for dad to come and water every day, but then it is only one block off my route home from work.  I will put a chair in the garden shed that I can drag out and sit and talk to the vegetables while I keep a vigilant eye out for marauding hordes of slugs.  In one of the boxes of treasures I took home there is a flask that MeMa told me I didn't need as I already had one.....  Well I think I will heed her advice and drop it by dad’s but put it in the garden shed so when I find myself a block off my route  home from work I can have a glass of our favorite scotch.

13 comments:

  1. I know what you mean, Doc. Just haven't felt like posting.
    Glad to hear your dad will be okay.
    Hope you ll have a blessed weekend. ♥

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    1. Thanks Linda, I have a lot of catching up to do.

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  2. I think you are being perfectly reasonable in your garden expectations.

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    1. My garlic is already up about four inches.

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  3. Moving from ones home is always a difficult decision to make. So glad your Dad has made it on his own terms and living with your brother will be so much better than if he had to go into a retirement home. Enjoy the "extra" garden.

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    1. Thank you Susan, yes we are all very thankful and dad seems to be adjusting very well to the changes he has made. Actually he has a few appointments to make and then will be flying down to Arizona for the rest of the winter.

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  4. I've not yet hit that wall; I still bore the pants off people on a daily basis. I like the sound of your Dad's veg patch, it's almost the subject for a Flaubert short story.

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    1. Flaubert eh? Well perhaps I should add my writing tablet to the chair and flask.

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  5. Welcome back x I'm so glad there is good news regarding your fathers illness & the veg & flask plan sounds perfect. Take care.

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  6. Happy you're back. I enjoy your writing very much.

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  7. Ah, it's all too clear from this posting why you have not been blogging lately - LIFE in capitals has taken pride of place for you. I dreamed very vividly throughout the period when my parents were in the final stages of their lives and afterwards when the family home was cleared for sale. It's a strange time, full of memories and a sense of loss. I am so glad that things are going well for your father. This time is precious and I know that you will treasure it.

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