So for years we have joked about the British boxing day being the day we box up Christmas. I grew up leaving everything up until New Year's.. but my wife’s mom would leave the tree in sometimes until Valentine's Day. So she and some of her sisters (can’t stand it, something about embarrassment as a child) the day after.. sometimes Christmas night, it's time to start boxing things up. But that’s not what we are talking about today...
A few days ago, my father-in-law went to stay with his other kids... it didn’t go well. Now honestly, we think he probably had the narovirus, so they had it worse than normal, but the result was twofold: One, they were not excited about taking him for a week over New Year’s while we go play in a condo in Georgia, and second, they were concerned that he was too much work for their sister to be taking on by herself. Between that and an incident a few days before when he got up, took his pills.. took a nap and got up and took his pills… She was finally ready to make the difficult step of moving him into an assisted living center.
Even though it’s the right thing, it’s a huge stress, boxing up his clothes, moving some furniture, trying to make his new room feel like home. We took a couch and his puzzle table from the family room, bought a new bookcase that looked like the one in his room, took the tv from his room, hung family pictures...
His bed and bedding is all new, but there is a nice blanket with a picture of him and all 8 of his kids his son gave him for Christmas. We hope that stocking the fridge with root beer, Glucerna, and water bottles will make him happy. We are trying everything we can think of to make this easier on him.
Yesterday he was fine, he knew where he was going, remembered that the drive from the care center to our house is about 1 minute.. they counted it after visiting last week. And was excited that the branch in the care center is part of our stake and many of the people serving there are from our ward and know and love him. But even with that today.. he was mad.. why are you kicking me out.. where is my bed.. why are you being so mean… in the end it will be, but for a few hours today it was awfully emotionally draining.
This evening Sandy ate dinner with him. Evidently news is already out about a new resident.. a single man.. good looking, good health … doesn’t even take any night pills… It seems like an assisted living center is maybe a bit like grade school.. they go on field trips and a bit like middle school where the girls all want some guy to pay attention to them…
I think he will be just fine.. plus we are only a minute away.. probably easier to visit than trudging to the basement.
