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Friday, September 16, 2005

Thanks for all the nice comments and support for Dad's relocation. He's still doing really well. His stuff finally got delivered from the movers, and has started to settle in more. We stopped by yesterday to drop off some extra dry catfood to hold him over until we go to the pet store this weekend, and he was in a great mood. He had eaten over in the dining room again, and there was an Oktoberfest celebration last night, with a special meal (he loves German food), German beer, and an accordian player. He had dinner with a man who had worked in the same industry, and his wife, and at one point Dad rather gleefully mentioned that this man had sung along with the accordianist! He was really excited when I suggested that we go out to a local German restaurant with this couple and talked about liking them quite well. He hadn't gotten out for a walk that day but with all the unpacking I think he was too tired, but he dutifully reported out that he had soup I had stocked in the cottage for him for lunch, and that he'd eaten a pretty big dinner. The food seems to be suiting him pretty well, the night I joined him he came to the conclusion that there was nothing wrong with the food once you added some salt, that he just hadn't had much appetite in general. Well yeah, he'd hardly been eating at all before he moved up. But its clear that he's enjoying the social part of dinner. Last weekend he complained about how depressing it was seeing men in wheelchairs and significantly disabled when he went to the dining room, but I'm thinking that as he starts to get to know people, they will "individualize" into people he can enjoy talking to and who have a lot of attributes beyond their health related limitations.

We are still working on getting him comfortable with the stick shift in the Cabrio. Hopefully we'll get him to the point he can drive the Cabrio by himself so he isn't depending on me to get him out for his haircuts or other errands. This weekend he'll get to watch his grandson's baseball game (assuming we don't get rained out.)

It was nice to walk in and see the family pictures up on the mantle now, the effort he put into putting some of his decorations out to make the place his. The kids and I had done some stuff so it wouldn't be empty, but now it looks like his place, not just a nice apartment anyone could live in.

Obviously we have a long ways to go before he's going to be sure about staying but so far it really looks good. I'm not anticipating any "much talked about" affairs with the single women there, but he did also relate a story of running into a woman (he hadn't met before) as he was visiting the computer/library space who approached him this way: "Oh Good! Am I glad to see you! I just can't get this zipper pulled up by myself and I was afraid I'd have to wait for someone on staff to help me out." She then turns, revealing a dress open to her waist, and asks him to do the zipper. He was highly amused. I teased him that women sure seemed a lot more forward in making passes as they got to his age. He had to point her out to me in the dining room that night. :)

I hope those of you who are dealing with similar things find something encouraging in this...

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