Sunday, September 5, 2010

Great Visit

Shirley and I buzzed down to see Elbert yesterday. As usual he was in rare form .... when he was focused. But, you just aren't going to get him to come back from his little world way out in space until he is ready. So, there are times of connecting and times I just pull my embroidery out and work while I wait for him to return.

He never ceases to amaze me and I am so overjoyed at getting any semblance of normalcy out of him I just find everything he says funny. I laugh a lot when I am with him and that is a good thing. Sometimes he knows he's being cute, too. And, of all things, Shirley was making a photo of him with her cell phone and the little stinker was 'posing'. Oh, yes, that man is still in there wandering around somewhere.

I had on a skirt with a rather 'loud' print in black and white. He looked at it and then commented 'That sure is black and white'. 'Yep' I said. and he came back with 'There's nothing you can do about it'. I laughed and laughed. Nope, there wasn't a thing I could do with that flowered print. He sure was right about that.

Seeing that he recognized his colors I decided to ask him if he could name our children. That was nowhere in his brain so it did not happen. So, I asked if he knew Elbert and Willie and did they go together. He said 'Well, part time they could'. That made me stop and think.... We are together part time now, he in the nursing home and me back home and we are together when I go visit. Could he have been referring to that? Did that little brain connector link up with another little brain connector and he knew we weren't together all the time? Wow.

One day when I visited he was sleeping in the bed. I gotta quit going to the nursing home late in the afternoon. That's his naptime. I shook him and asked him if he was sleeping. He begrudging nodded yes then he added, 'You can crawl in the bed with me if you want'. Ahhhh. sharing time.

Shirley showed her Dad a picture of the his great-grandson off her cell phone. You know those pictures are hard to see but he stared at it until the screen went black.


5 comments:

Gilda Spitz said...

Latane, after several recent dire posts, I can't believe how well things are going for you and Elbert lately. I love your comment about him still being in there somewhere! I'm so glad you have happy things to write about.

Carol Noren Johnson said...

Thanks so much for telling me about Elbert. You are so genuine when you write.

Dolores said...

Wow, what a sweet, inspiring and funny post. I love reading Elbert's funny comments. I love his sense of humor, even in the midst of this disease.

I'm so happy you are having some good days!
My thoughts and prayers are with you!
Hugs,

JUST A MOM said...

LOOK HOW GREAT HE LOOKS!!!!!!

A Colorful World said...

It was such a relief to learn that Dad's deep sleep in the later afternoon was not his all-day "thing;" that they are getting him up and into a wheelchair and doing physical therapy with him. I headed there the other day and when I arrived he was sitting in his wheelchair at the nurse's station. I said, "Well, what are you up to?" He didn't know how to answer. But later after we went outside for a brief period and then back in, I said, "ooh, back into the air conditioning!" He said, "Feels good, doesn't it?" Yes, it did!