Wednesday, September 12, 2012

The Obstinance of the Elderly

I dearly love my 84-year-old father. Make no mistake.

But there are times...

Like now, when he is planning to step board a plane; make two changes and arrive in Bradenton, FL. unannounced at his 95-year-old sister's Sarasota home.

Sometime during the next 10 days he plans to travel 3-1/2 hours north and visit us.

His sister lives with her son, his wife and his 78-year-old mother-in-law - who can't speak English.

This behavior is not unusual for my father. However, he barely walks anymore, is steadily losing weight; is forgetful and getting ornery by the minute. No one in the family has been able to reason with him and he refuses all suggestions like someone driving him or flying with him. To top it off, his flight is full so no one can hop on at the last minute unless th.
ey want to chance standby and hope they continue to catch a standby flight the rest of the way with Dad.

Furthermore, he refuses to call me & say he's coming to Florida! I ask about it and he laughs & changes the subject.

Meanwhile, no one up north seems willing to stop him.

So, if you're the type to pray, please do for his safety and my sanity.

I have snacked all day, paced the floor, wrung my hands and fielded phone calls about this "crazy old man's trip."

Just when I thought I'd write a column about doing laundry in my wringer washer and making laundry soap, I get sidetracked by family drama.

Moving nearly 2,000 miles away didn't keep it from us.

2 comments:

HermitJim said...

Boy, I can feel your pain on this one! My mom is 86 and is just now starting to realize she is a lot more limited than she used to be!

Guess we all have to face something like this from time to time!

treesong said...

My sister-in-law emailed two hours ago & said he had called from Charlotte & said all was well. I was surprised to hear he'd called. She said she had threatened to have the cops waiting for him if he didn't! Meanwhile, on our voice mail is a very terse message from my cousin in Sarasota. "You can pick him up this weekend before 6 p.m. Saturday. YOU should be ashamed of yourself for letting this happen!"

What magical power do I have?

I must discover what it is because there's a lot I'd like to change in this world, beginning with certain people's attitudes.