Out and About

Friday afternoons, specifically the last three months, has been a combination of Doctor visits for not only Mom and Dad, but also my dog (we are trying to get rid of a pesky corneal ulcer in his eye). In between the carefully staggered afternoon appointments; however, the usual chores are still executed, namely going to the dump and weekly food shopping. There is no garbage pickup in Bucksport, resulting in hauling your trash to the dump a couple of miles outside of town. Dad has been taking the ride with me to the dump pretty much since he had returned home last spring. For the last three months or more he has also been going with me to do the weekly food shopping. It takes a little longer, food shopping, and sometimes he doesn’t swing as wide as he should when turning a corner in those little electric carts (resulting in getting “stuck” on an end display), but it’s good for him to be out and about. I think back to last spring when he first came home. He really didn’t want to go anywhere or do anything and he was tired all the time. Now, almost from the moment I walk into the house on Friday I typically hear from him, “So what are we going to do this afternoon?” I like to joke with him to give me a second to take off my jacket first, but still, the eagerness to do something, go somewhere is there and a good thing. I would rather have him eager and looking forward to something, than sitting there depressed, something that has not ever really taken over since the stroke. They say attitude and a positive outlook are the modes by which people overcome tragic events.  No truer statement could be made and Dad still has a great attitude.  

I always like to think of the sing songwriter Beck and a line in his song Strange Apparition, “Anything should make you happy.” Sometimes it doesn’t always, but you know what? It should.