Sylvain, I had to pop out of lurkdom to tell you that you brought tears to my eyes when your daddy finally wanted to discuss his future.
After taking care of my mom until she had to go to a nursing home (Alzheimers) my dad spent every evening with her, first feeding her supper, watching Wheel and Jeopardy together all the while rubbing her neck, hands and head as he had done most evenings during their marriage. Unfortunately she took a dislike to him as the disease progressed yet he persisted in loving her. Of course from time to time he became overwhelmed with it all but not often.
She died one month shy of their 58th anniversary. Dad then continued to live at home and I became his helper even more than before. After a year on his own he said he could no longer take care of himself and home. My husband graciously remodeled our office into a room for him, moving all our office items into our bedroom. He hooked up cable for him, hung a hummingbird feeder outside his window, put a urinal in his closet and seldom did they have harsh words. When dad came down with large cell lymphoma we had our work cut out for us, even though my brother and sister lived within 15 miles of us they "worked". sigh. All families seem to have dividing lines such as ours.
Dad died in his room here in his recliner and I have no regrets. I was his favorite and I adored him. He taught me to love the outdoors and to love reading. I would take him to the Navy base across our lake so he could see pictures of his ship, sit in the gun he manned during WW2. I fished and hunted with him till my teens. He was a good dad.
What I really want to say is that you will never regret what you and Gail will be doing for him. Even though you have written of your growing up years parents do realize too late how they could have been better parents. Our part is to love them and then love them some more. I will be praying for you, Gail and your Dad. This truly is a wonderful thing.
Joy
