Senior Citizens

Last week was my dad's birthday. My sister-in-law, Natalie, and I have been joking since last year that we were going to throw him a "Senior Citizen" party, since he was turning 55 and now eligible for the senior discounts. The funniest part about it is that my dad doesn't look (or act) like he's 55 in the least. We thought this was a pretty fun birthday party idea and dad could use a good laugh now and then. We moved forward with our party plans and last weekend, we threw dad his Senior Citizen Birthday Bash. Joe and Natalie drove in from Arizona and we invited our family and close friends to celebrate. The fun people dressed up like senior citizens and we ate good food, laughed, opened presents and played Bingo. It was a really fun night. Here are some fun pictures, just to bring a smile to your face. I laugh every time I look back at the photo of Natalie and me.

With every up there is a down. We had a fun time getting together and celebrating and it was good for dad to get out (we had a caregiver at home with mom). Joe doesn't say much, but I know this visit was especially hard for him because it was the first time that mom didn't know him. Even a few short months ago, at Christmas time, mom connected who her son was-even if she wasn't very social. This time, she couldn't figure out who he was and kept telling him that he needed to leave. Joe told me that on day 3, she finally figured out who he was, but continued to tell him that he needed to go home and shouldn't stay. Other than the usual things mom talks about (her lack of money and credit cards, not being able to drive, etc), Joe wasn't able to understand anything she said. Her speech is very fast and very slurred. If we can pick out a few clear words we are able to piece together what she is talking about. For those who don't see her as frequently (like Joe), it's harder to make sense of what she is talking about.

The next time Joe will be out will likely be in July. Seeing how it took mom 3 days to know who he was, I wonder if she will even connect the dots at all during their next visit :(