Dad

[stoutfellow]

I had a nice telephone chat with my sister C last night, mostly about Dad. I'd gotten a couple of rather discouraging messages from my brother, and I wanted a second opinion. C had been to see Dad Wednesday night; she reassured me that, though Dad is frail, has lost weight, and - in her professional opinion - will probably never walk again, still, he's in good spirits, his mind is clear, and the effort involved in using and getting in and out of his wheelchair is building up his arm and leg strength. One or another member of the family visits him pretty much every day; he knows the schedule, and gets upset if someone misses. When I'm in California for the holidays, I figure I'll try to see him daily. The man's ninety-three; who knows how much longer we'll have him? C tells me the grand- and great-grandkids get out there from time to time too, which is good; they are, I think, his greatest remaining joy. He deserves as much of that as he can get.