Hide Dad’s Shirt…

When I went to visit dad today for the last time before my trip, he was sitting in the television lounge and wasn’t very talkative.

After we sat together almost an hour, returned to his room so he could use the bathroom and as were on our way to the dining area, he showed me the button was missing from his shirt sleeve. He said it needed to be fixed.  I told him I wouldn’t be here to fix it because I am leaving soon.  I said maybe someone else can fix it.

I stopped by one of the aides before I left.  I told her about dad’s shirt and asked if someone there could fix it.  She asked where the button was – is it in his room?  I have no idea so she wasn’t sure if it could be fixed.  I said: “If you can’t get it fixed, hide it.  He has other shirts he got for Christmas that he hasn’t even worn yet.  I will fix it when I get home”.

Dad always likes to wear a short-sleeved shirt underneath and a long-sleeved flannel shirt over it.  If he wasn’t wearing the shirt at the time, I would have taken it home with me.  But since he had it on, and was on his way to lunch, I decided to let him continue wearing it today.  Dad doesn’t like to change his clothes and tends to put on the same shirt and pants every day.

If they hide the shirt with the missing button, he will have to put on something else.  It just seemed like a funny thing to say.  I am sure he will forget about it if he doesn’t see it in the laundry basket or in his closet.

It always seems that things require my attention just at the point where I have to leave.  I know dad has several other nearly identical shirts as he likes to wear the same style and color all the time.  I hate to leave without wrapping everything up, but I know he will get along without it!

I wrote this on my home computer but now have no access to it.  I will publish it now from my iPad but may not get to the next post till I get my laptop set up with wi-fi!

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