Dad Is HOME!!

Hello, All,

Today after church, my two daughters and I went to Parkview, packed the remaining things of dad's and got him in the car. We drove to Mansfield where 2 soldiers and Alan (my husband) had been working all morning. The last few days have been brutal trying to finish things to meet an arbitrary deadline set by .... well, by me, I guess. Dad wanted to be home by Christmas, but that just could not happen. But it did happen only a few short days later. There are still a few things to finish.

We worked on Christmas Eve, had Christmas on Christmas day and again the day after with Alan's family. It was nice to relax for a couple of days. The Monday after Christmas, we were here again. I hung out with the girls at home on Tuesday and Wednesday, and also had lunch with a girlfriend from DC Wednesday. Thursday one of my cousins came to help from KC, and my girls both came with me. We got a lot done. There were clothes to move around and furniture to move. We took out a lot of wall space in the living room when we added the bedroom door that accommodates the wheelchair.

Friday was a big work day for all of us, but I left Mansfield at 3:00 pm because the girls wanted to have friends over to spend the night for New Year's Eve. Kids don't cherish sleep quite like I do. :) We rang in the new year and then went to bed exhausted. Well, I did. I think the kids were up long after I crashed. On New Year's Day, we were in Mansfield again, and one of dad's good friends came to help me move furniture and arrange things. He hooked up the TV and hung closet doors. Alan was hanging tile in the shower, and the soldiers were working on placing the sink. At about 6:00 pm, we realized the sink would not work without different supplies, and so we had to quit for the night. Alan and I went directly to Lowe's to get the needed parts, and then we had dinner together. We hardly talked -- too tired. He spent the night at his folks' house in Springfield (again -- 3 nights this week) to shave 40 minutes off his early morning and late night drives to and from Mansfield. There were 2 nights this week he didn't leave before 9:30 pm.

Today, when I phoned him on my way down, he was leery about moving forward, but I already had dad in the car. He called his dad to drive down to help him finish grouting tile in the shower, and he did. Larry had helped lay tile on the floor and the walls of the shower, and Alan's mom has provided great meals when we stayed at their house and were too tired.

Tonight dad got to meet the soldiers who helped with this. Sgt. Feick and Sgt. Jim (don't know his last name) were here and finished, and I know they are SO glad this huge project is finished. It was bigger than any of us ever imagined, but it is done, and it looks really nice.

I am spending the night here tonight to make sure all settle in well, but I plan to go home tomorrow. I do have a list of things to get done, and need a plumber to finish installing the sink that seems to want to keep leaking. I am also going to look in to finding someone to finish grouting and caulking the shower if Alan will let me. I know he's beat and so ready to be done, but as many of you know, being the one to finish what you started might mean it's done right. (Not that someone else couldn't do it, but you know what I mean.)

There have been so many involved to help, and I thank you SO much. Just your words of encouragement and votes of confidence have meant so much. I thought dad seemed great tonight. He was in a good mood, talked with the soldiers some, kidded around with the soldiers and with my girls (who did a "show" for him while I was on the phone with the TV service getting that to work. It does now! :) ). We were loud and laughed. Okay... the sink situation in the bathroom was a little tense, and Alan was ready to leave, poor guy. I forgot to mention, too, the care-giver's name is Pam, and she is SO sweet. She has done in-home care for years, is in her 50s, and is soft-spoken. So far, I really like her too. She will be here 6 days a week, and the other care-giver, Karen, will be here 1 day a week.

Now I have to tackle the medication situation. For two meds, I have about enough for 2 days. Not good.... I'll likely have to be here again Wednesday morning, but I am hoping for a weekend at the Stanton house, sleeping in and doing nothing. We'll see how that works out! :)

I'll keep you posted on how he progresses and how this goes for awhile. So far.... so very, very good. I will hang on his wall tomorrow a wall hanging I found before Christmas that reads, "With God, All things are possible." God has provided for dad to be home, and we all know, there's no place like home! :)

Thank you for your prayers, your concern for dad, and your encouragement through this very long process.

~Rhonda