Author: maryrush.reflexology@yahoo.com

Dads Christmas adventure.

I wrote this on the 28/12/2021.  Then I managed to lock myself out of the website! So today is 7/01/22. Dad is feeling much better.

Christmas day was celebrated at Wirksworth, mainly because I do not want to cook in my Mums Kitchen! All preparation was done, presents wrapped, lamb shank cooking. Mum and Dad came around 11am. The new travelling game is to count traffic. Surprisingly there were no lorries today. Presents were opened. He likes the kindling, fire is highly important in Dads life. Our fire was lit.

There was a lovely moment while eating dinner that a fraction of the old Dad came back. He talked about travelling up and down to Aberdeen to take me to university. He enjoyed pouring himself some Cote du Rhone. He was relaxed and happy, it was fabulous.

It didn’t last long. The looking at his wrist watch started. He made comments about all the things he and Mum had to do at home. We managed to play a game of “save the Eskimo”. It is a hammer game that my sister and I played often as kids, we have lost the Eskimo, so its more of save the igloo. Dad did not want to share the hammer. Christmas cake was eaten happily. Then the question

“When are we going home?!”

He looks anxiously at his watch, and rubs his hands together.  More distraction techniques employed with a jigsaw.  The jigsaw was not important enough to do, and anyway

“we have those at home, lets go home to do the ones there.  You can all come you know.”

A cuppa and watching the fire was tried. The tea drank in double quick time, and checking that Mum was drinking hers too!

“finished can we go home please? Where is my coat?” says Dad

“you don’t need it in the house” maybe a bit mean, but it was only 3pm

Mum had her crochet slippers on

“We can’t go home, I haven’t got my slippers on”

“Thats a  trick, where are your shoes? Can you get my coat please?”

Dad managed to stay until 4pm. Then his anxiety got the better of him and Mum had to just take him home.

Boxing day arrives, Mum still has to get up at 5am, no bank holidays for carers! They are both very tired. The on Monday it is obvious that Dad is sneezing, has a croaky voice and is slightly hot too, Mum isn’t feeling to good either. I come over so that Mum can have a sleep. If Mum leaves the room, Dad starts to worry and then look for her, this means an afternoon nap is impossible.

Operation Dad distraction for an hour begins. My husband and I start with dominoes. He is better at this than he lets on. It might not be maltese cross that he taught me, just follow the number of dots, but it was he who won 3 to 2 to the loser husband coming in at just one game won!

Then lets start another jigsaw.

“where is Mum”

She is busy doing boring jobs upstairs”

“we should just make sure with Mum that was can start the jigsaw”

“Of course we can start the jigsaw, thats why its out”

“maybe we should check, she might need help”

Mum being fast asleep, definitely doesn’t need help, but if Dad though she was in bed he would then be worried that something was wrong. The jigsaw was started. He got engrossed in finishing the edge bits. When the edges was done, we start again worrying about Mum. This time a different concern.

“is it bed time, maybe I need to go to bed”

Tea was made, the police man pieces on the jigsaw was found and added to the puzzle, Mum was forgotten again for a bit.

A hour hour was managed, then I got a message from above,

“Can I have a cup of tea”

“Dad I am going to take Mum a cup of tea”

“Thank-goodness she is ok”

The relief on his face was visible, I do wonder what he was thinking Mum was up to.

So today they are both still not very well. Dad is sleepy, and Mum knows they have cold symptoms. Lots of tests have been done, all negative. Its a worrying time to have a bit of cold like symptoms. I came over today to help with food, and give Mum a rest. Poor Dad was made to play a game of pairs with some very nice animal cards. The first game was to guess the animal.

A frog was “the wet thing that lives in the pond”

The parrot became a “carrot”

Dad was not sure about all this brain thinking, but we had 2 games, of which he won.

I left them both watching a film.

Today the family had an early Christmas Day day.  Mum and Dad arrived in Wirksworth, they got settled down with a cuppa, then my sister and her partner came.  Dad was very happy to see both his daughters in the same place, and not in that computer thingy either!

Dad’s presents had a warmth theme.  My sister can sew beautifully and she had created a hot water bottle cover.  Dad was pleased, we got a detailed description of how he makes his two hot water bottles for his bed.

“we can take this home and you fill up the hot making device, hold this thing carefully, then pour in the hot stuff, you need to be very careful.”

The next present was exciting too! How to light the fire?  Once Mum had realized that there was a safety catch that is!

“What’s good about this is it has a long bit thingy so that you can reach right down to the fire twisted bit”

The twisted bit being the fire lighter.

There were other present opening too, Books and Jedi heads.  Nothing really interesting until the tool set came out, that held the electricians attention.

The problem then came after a couple of hours excitement.  When is home time?  We hadn’t had any food yet, But Dad was concerned that he would have to spend the night here.  Distraction with a jigsaw was tried by my sister.

“Dad I really like you to stay a bit longer so that we can have dinner together because I don’t get to see you often and I like being with you” says my sister to Dad

“its nice seeing you too, I can stay a bit longer I think”

Then, the next minute

“when are we going? where is my grey woolly thing”, This being his coat that we had cunningly hidden on the coat stand.  Mum sits with him, holding his hand, we, both my sister and me, talk to him about the jigsaw.  He eventually calms down and stops breathing quickly.  Jigsaw is looked at and dinner can be made.

Dinner went down well.  Roast veg with steak pie, Dad was concerned about my sisters drink, it looked funny.  He tried a bit, it was fizzy, he kept this drink, its nicer than water thankyou. Pepsi max is a little bit sweeter than water!

After dinner it was game time. Do you know the more simple the game the more competitive and tactical the game can become? This game involved flipping marbles from one tringle area to another.  You can not imagine the complications of this game!  Of course I won, except Dad though I had lost!

Mum and Dad watched the fire for a bit, and then we couldn’t keep him in Wirksworth any longer, he just wanted to be at home.

The coat was found, bags and presents collected, and in the car he quickly got.  As my sister and I waved him off, he wound down the window, up and down, up and down, many times. Up. Down, Up Down.

He really did have an adventure today, but he likes to be home too!