Different

A lot can happen in a short time. I recently met up with a very good friend and spent some hours over a couple of weeks chatting and catching up. It was great to see her again. Like me she too has had her share of life's troubles.
Her marriage has broken up and I know she has a lot on her plate. My role in her life is very insignificant but we both like each other and feel safe with each other when we meet. Hence we do get to be honest with each other and say what we feel. I like that. Hopefully it wont be two years before we meet up again.

But stuff changes. Since my last entry my dad has had a stroke and has spent 7 weeks away from home doing all he can to get back home. He came home on Saturday and it has been an awakening to see him the way he is now. Strokes are bastards of things. You don't see them coming and the effects are devastating. My dad has had a slight stroke but that has meant a great change in him. His speech has changed, his walk is slower and more unsure and of all things in his life he has forgotten how the use the TV. He is not himself, he has lost weight and he does not have the same hunger for things that he once had. I guess that at 86 you can get like that.

Whats hard is seeing the change in him. Gone is the strong robust man who in recent years had begun to shuffle about but was always busy. He seems at this stage to have lost all that. As he says he feels out of it. And I can understand that he does feel out of it and that in time he will get stronger and more confident. His appetite has changed, he struggles with most meals and in lots of ways his behaviour has become very childlike. He is a bit helpless but I know he is trying to deal with it all as best he can. I keep telling myself to see what tomorrow will bring.
Till next time