I'll Count Easter As a "Win"

I'm not talking about Easter Worship, which was good.  Very Good, actually, to quote God.

I'm talking about Easter Dinner at my mom's house in the afternoon.

My mom made the ham, the vegetables, and the pie.  I made something called "Company Hash Browns" and "Apple Gorgonzola Salad."  There was just a little of each left over, and, since I don't cook as often as I'd like, I was pleased that everyone liked my offerings.  Maybe I'll cook again, someday.

But I'm not talking about that, either.

My mother-in-law came to church with us, but unfortunately didn't feel well enough to come to dinner later.  My stepson accepted our invitation, but my niece stayed home with a cough.  And my brother and my nephew (the rock star) went over to the nursing home where my dad lives and brought him over for dinner.

My dad has Parkinsons.  He used to be on medication that helped him stay active, but some of the medication also made him hallucinate.  After awhile, they decided not to make him take all of that medication, so he is pretty much confined to the wheelchair now.  We like that he can be with us for holidays, but some visits go better than others.

At first, it seemed like it wasn't going to go very well.  When my brother brought my dad's wheelchair in, he was sort of leaning over and had a grimace on his face as if he was in pain.  We tried to straighten him up, but he didn't look like he was ready to have a good time.  My brother got a pillow from the car, and that seemed to help a little bit.

My dad had a good dinner with us, but he's not such a sparkling conversationalist as he used to be.  Just last week one of my parents' old friends said she remembered how good my dad was at telling stories.  So I told him so.  I said, "Velma said she remembered how good you were at telling stories!"  I said it several times, until finally he replied, "She did?"

After dinner, I thought I'd try to engage my dad a little more.  We tried singing.  We started "You are My Sunshine," thinking we would just sing the chorus, but when we finished, he went right into the first verse.  We sang a few other songs, but I didn't know all of the words.  (as usual.)

At one point my nephew ( the rock star) was sitting next to my dad and talking to him, and I thought I heard my dad give a little laugh that was familiar to me.  So we said, "Dad!  Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?  the Shadow knows..." and my dad said....'bwa haha'.  We said it a couple more times.  And my dad also remembered a few other imitations he used to do.

We laughed.  My brother and I sang a few old Allan Sherman songs.

Then we had two kinds of pie:  lemon and apple.

My brother helped my mom get my dad into the car to go back to the nursing home.

I fell asleep in the easy chair in their living room.

When my mom returned from the nursing home, she said that my dad turned to her in the car and said, "that was fun."

So, I'll count Easter as a 'win.'