“Who is that old man in the mirror?” dad asked as he looked up with a crooked half smile.

“It’s you Dad, you are an old man now” I replied with a returning half smile.

“I don’t want to be that old man. I don’t know who that old guy is I was shaving” and then dad kicked back into smart ass mode by finishing his statement of defiance with “have you looked into a mirror lately? You’re an old lady now too.” To which I promptly shot him the ‘number one’ salute.  We sighed at the same time as both of us were probably thinking the same thing; ‘How and when did it happen so quickly’

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This was a trying week for Dad as he spent it in the hospital (again). His strong will still desires to do all the things he enjoys in life, however, his body and brain damage from the stroke is dictating otherwise. Watching such a slow and debilitating process at this stage in his life is nothing short of cruel, frustrating and confusing for everyone involved, I can not imagine how magnified those feelings are for my father.

I sat on the edge of his bed and spoke with him about future changes that are inevitable and pending closer to his/our reality as it stands now. We deal with the ugly truth by cracking jokes and laughing at things that make others shake their heads at us. I hope he never forgets to laugh at life, even when it comes to the end.

My niece captured a touching moment

wishing he was free

Shaving a face he doesn’t recognize

After many tests and magic wands, he was able to transfer into a Rehab facility to help build his strength back up before returning home. My hope for him and his girl Dolly is that life goes easy and treats him with gentle kindness.

This ‘Tough Old Bird’ was outside enjoying the beautiful morning breeze. I am not sure if he was trying to escape and I caught him or he was just watching the birds, either way, I was happy to see him out and about.