Meals again

Dad got up very late on Saturday, so he didn't eat breakfast until 9:00. Because his breakfast was so late, I didn't give him lunch until 1:00. My husband had gone to a football game with some friends, and I knew he would probably be late getting home, so I was planning a late dinner. I wasn't too worried because Dad had eaten lunch at 1 and Mom had eaten at 1:30.

Well, that didn't stop Dad. At 5:00, he came in and sat at the table, expecting to be fed. To add to the confusion, my son who was home from college was eating a pizza. Dad thought it was totally unfair that my son got to eat a pizza and I wouldn't fed him dinner. I explained to Dad that

a. The pizza was my son's lunch since he kept college student hours

b. He had eaten a late lunch himself

c. My husband wasn't home from the game yet, so I wasn't ready to cook dinner.

I finally convinced Dad that waiting in his chair in the TV room was much more comfortable than waiting at the table.

Spitting Revisited

After being pretty good for a week, Dad started spitting again yesterday. Mom tried to shame him into stopping by asking him what his mother would have said if he had spit on the floor at her house. He said, "She wouldn't like it." At least he knew it wasn't appropriate. However, he spent the rest of the day mourning his mother. She's been dead 40 years.

At least Dad remembered his mother was dead. Just the other night, he was talking about his mother.

"I haven't seen my mother in a long time. I think she still lives in Dallas. I wish I could go to Dallas to see my mother. She likes to live in Dallas. She has lived in Dallas most of her life. If I had a car, I could drive to Dallas to see my mother. I think my mother would like to see me. It's been a long time since I have seen my mother." and on and on and on.

I felt bad breaking the news to him that his mother was dead. I told him that she died 40 years ago in 1964. He responded, "She must have died young because I'm not very old." I reminded him that she was 82 years old when she died and that he is currently 87. He practiced that information over and over adding, "My mother is dead. I'm never going to see her again because she is dead. She's been dead 40 years. I guess that's why I haven't seen her in a long time."

Nose Bleeds

Dad has always had allergies. They make his nose itch and get stopped up. For the past 10 years or so, he will periodically dig in his nose until he makes it bleed. Then, he won't pinch his nose to make it stop. Even worse, when a clot does form, he doesn't like the feel of it, picks it off, and starts the nose bleed up again. At least this time he didn't try to demand that we take him to the emergency room.

Spit score

Draw--Dad *tried* to spit in the trashcan and almost made it. When my husband picked up the trash can to empty it...

Egypt

Egypt is a recurring theme for Dad, both ancient and modern. Sometimes, he is an Egyptian, other times he is an outsider. Lately, he has been a part of the army that occupied Egypt during World War II. He talks about going out into the Egyptian desert and finding an isolated group of people that are neither Islamic nor Christian. These people "worship stolen idols. That's true of them." What these idols are and who they were stolen from, he never says. He just keeps repeating:

"They worship stolen idols. That's what they do. They worship stolen idols. That's true of them."

Apparently both the Moslems and Christians hate them. These people are afraid of the Egyptians that live along the Nile and feel the need to hide from them.

It isn't clear whether Dad thinks he is part of the British army or part of the American army. He seems to change randomly. The stolen idols are the only consistent part of the story.

Spit score
Me 2
Dad 0

Spit Report

Me 1
Dad 0
No spit around his chair this morning.

Spitting

Dad has always spit. One of my grossest childhood memories is of one of our lo-o-o-o-o-ong car trips. Dad would roll down the car window, spit, and roll it back up. This was before electric windows were common. On this particular trip, Dad was getting tired from the long drive. He thought he had rolled down the window, so he turned his head and spit. He hadn't rolled down the window...

With this as a background, Dad had something of a base for telling my husband that he had "always spit on the floor." Even though he practiced spitting in the trashcan that night, the lesson didn't stick. We've had to clean the floor around his chair fairly often. Now it is getting to be an everyday thing. I tried fussing at him again tonight. The last time I checked on him, he was holding the trashcan and spitting into it. I guess we'll know in the morning if it made any difference.

Chicken Fried Steak and Queso?

Dad will eat anything at a restaurant as long as it is chicken fried steak. His table manners are only slightly better than my 20 month old grandson. Dad spills more than my grandson (unless my grandson is trying to feed his puppies). Eating utensils are only approximations. Food can be picked up with a fork or spoon, then pulled off with fingers and stuffed in the mouth. Alternately, food can be picked up with fingers and be placed on a fork for tranport to the mouth. Or, as a third option, the fingers can work with the fork all the way from the plate to the mouth.

Tonight, Dad was eating chicken fried steak with his fingers and french fries with a fork. I guess the french fries were easier to stab. We were eating at one of the few Mexican restaurants in town that serves chicken fried steak also. While we were waiting for the food, Dad was dipping chips in queso (his own because of double dipping). When the meal came and my husband had cut up his meat, Dad proceeded to pick up the chicken fried steak, dip it in queso and eat it. It must not have been too bad because he repeated it several times.

Crisis Averted

"One side of my nose is blocked up. I don't know what to do."

"One side of my nose is blocked. I can't breathe out of one side of my nose."

"I can't breathe out of one side and I don't know what to do."

"Can someone help me?"

My husband coached him through using nose spray. It took 2 or 3 times, but they were apparently successful. He was able to eat dinner with no further problems.

Geography and Water

Dad has always been interested in geography. Travel books were among his favorites as a child.

"I've never been to Africa. This is true of me."

"My daughter has never been to Africa. This is true of her."

My brother went to live in Arkansas. He never went to Africa. That was true of him."

"The Sahara is a desert in Africa. It takes up most of Africa. I've never been to Africa."

"The Sahara does not get much rain. They don't have enough rain to grow crops. That is true of them."

"The Amazon gets too much rain. The Amazon is not a desert. It gets too much rain to grow crops. That is true of it."

"Texas has dry areas. West Texas is dry. It is hard to grow crops in West Texas. New Mexico doesn't get much rain either. Arizona is a desert. They can't grow crops in Arizona."

"East Texas gets plenty of rain. There are lots of rivers in East Texas. They can have agriculture there."

I guess all this talk about deserts and rain made Dad thirsty. He came to the table, put on his bib, and started talking about water.

"I don't smoke. I have never smoked. That is why I am thirsty. I need to drink water because I never smoked."

"I have never smoked and I don't want to smoke. That is true of me. That is why I drink water. I need water to drink."

"I don't get enough to drink. I need water because I don't smoke."

???