Another weekend with Dad

Since my Dad fell the first of March, I have spent many weekends visiting with him in a nursing home. The changes (for the better) were very slow coming at first, but now I see my old Dad is back.

It was hard at first, thinking that I might lose my last parent. Several times on my long drive to Savannah, I would be mentally planning what I would need to do should I get there to find him on death's door. One day I was actually called half way through my 4 hour drive and told he had been rushed to the emergency room, to meet him there.

Now it is several surgeries latter and things are looking good! I showed him the picture that I had taken of him the day I rushed to the emergency room. He had smiled weakly as I ran in and I snapped the picture with my phone.

"Who is that?" he asked.

"It's a picture of you taken two months ago."

"I look like I am layed out to die. Why did you keep telling me I looked great if I looked like that?"

Later on as Dad ate dinner in the dining hall, I had a conversation with a lovely gentleman. Well I guess it could be considered a conversation. He was so hard of hearing that he couldn't hear his own speach and certainly couldn't understand anything I was saying. But we spoke politely for several minutes, not sure of anything either one said or asked.

Here are several of the things I have thought of on my drives back and forth:
(1) Why don't we have a great transportation system like in Europe so that I could jump on a train, ride down to see him for a few hours and then back home? I could work on my computer, take calls, etc etc while I was traveling.
(2) Maybe I should buy a house in Coastal Georgia. I certainly miss the salty sea air.
(3) God, how did it get so hot down here. You can't even breath this air.
(4) What can I do for him while I am there this weekend that is interesting? Sitting in a nursing home day in and out can't be exciting. Especially since he is one of the few that is still aware of exactly where he is and what is going on.
(5) This is really hard on me here, I am not really a game player, although I try. I really don't care who wins at checkers, half way though I just want it all over with.
(6) How can I increase the odds of my not ending up in a nursing home myself? (I mean on the positive side - not committing sucide at the first sign of old age)
(7) I love this Willie Nelson CD
(8) Which one of my daughters will visit with me like I visit with him? Or will neither one of them come?