Monday, Dec. 04, 2006 12:52 am
Weekend
The lunch Friday in Bertram was, without a doubt, the best we've had. Great food and great people and a BIG crowd. And such nice people. It really warms the heart to meet so many good folks. I love that little town.
Friday afternoon was dull and slow. Then I had to voicetrack Virginia and our own Saturday afternoon and didn't leave for Dallas until 830. Made it there about midnight and visited with my sister a while.
Saturday I visited Daddy alone and let sis and Mom have the day off. He was conscious and awake and it was a pleasure to see him again and have him understand me. He cannot talk and I know that was incredibly frustrating to him. He would try to spell things in the air to me and do charades, but his mind wasn't functioning well so it wasn't easy. I was there when the physical therapist came and did some exercises with him and got him moved to the recliner to sit up for a while. Better for his lungs. Before I left, he was struggling to get words out. He seemed to be asking where I was going. I explained that I was going to his house and I was going to spend the night with Mother. He struggled and struggled and I struggled to understand when he said "Do I live in Dumas?" I said, Did you say 'Do I live in Dumas?' and he nodded. I said, no, you live in K___ville. He said "Where the hell is K___ ville?" Amusing and alarming that he has forgotten where he lives. I tried to explain that he and mother had left the farm and moved down south a while back, to the pretty red brick house. He just looked puzzled. He never has lived in Dumas. I don't know where that came from.
I went to my brother-in-law's jewelry show after and saw some pretty pieces. Then I went to see my nephew march in his last parade as drum major. It was cute little VERY small town parade with just about every kid in the town IN the parade with the boy scouts or dance troups or private schools. It wound through a residential area and was very low key. Sweet. My nephew was trying to tell me something as he marched and my sister figured it out. He had made first chair at the Regional Band competition, which is a very big deal. He was very pleased with himself and we were pleased for him.
He and my sister and I went out for Mexican food for dinner and then I watched David Letterman's Thanksgiving show with them (I had missed his Mom on Thanksgiving night and that's my favorite thing). Then I went out to Mother's and watched the end of the OU-Nebraska game.
Today we came to the hospital and visited a while with Dad. He didn't seem to be feeling as well today. He didn't want me to put his bed where he could see the TV. Mom trimmed his eyebrows and nose hairs and got him groomed up a little bit. My in-laws surprised me and dropped by after church. Dad was a gracious, voiceless host. Tomorrow he is supposed to get the kind of trach he can talk with, but his mouth is so mishapen now that I think we will still have great difficulty understanding him.
Mom and I left (and didn't get to see the end of a great Vince Young victory over the Colts) and went to the Olive Garden for lunch. Then home to watch the Cowboys. I worked on logs for work while I watched. It was too good of a game and I couldn't bear to leave, though Mother was trying to make me get on the road. I left after it, which was plenty early enough. I stopped in Waco to see my nephew and have a hamburger with him. He's such a sweet kid and easy to talk to.
I called my sister when I left Waco and we talked the whole way to my house. She had had a full bottle of wine and was very morose about her boys growing up and our dad's health and having to drive mother everyday, etc. etc. It was mostly the wine talking. I felt sorry for her. I wish there was more I could do.
No I am home and Willie is very happy to see me. He has followed me everywhere I have gone and is now curled up in my lap. He never curls up in my lap! Nathan Jr. isn't speaking to me, I don't think. I don't know if he is mad that I've been gone or mad that Mark hasn't come home, too.
Another news item of the weekend is that my former boss is dying and may already be gone. He is in a hospice in Fort Worth. It is sad because he has a young daughter that can only be about 5. I feel sorry for his young wife and for the child. He was not a good boss to me and we had lots of difficulties, so it is hard to feel sorry for him. My current boss is still good friends with him apparently (see, I don't like either one of them) and he has gone up to be with him, which is a nice thing to do.