Hello everyone,
Its been a bit of a difficult weekend for my family,
In regard to Dad .

Firstly I  want to say what an awesome job of looking after dad , that mum does.

Of course  as we age our bodies naturally start to deteriorate and then things begin to steadily wear out as time passes.
Sometimes things can be patched up medically and sometimes they just cant.
Dad with his diabetic ulcers on his feet is at that stage.

So for a while now dad has occasionally stayed at Rose Lodge on respite to give mum a short break from being his full time carer .

Dad has always protested about going into
Rose  Lodge for  respite , but once there he has always fitted in quite nicely , and he has seemed to really enjoy the social aspect of everything there , and he also has a few long time friends of his that are also living there permanently.

So sometimes with the changes that we may experience late in  life  ,
to our health are completely out of our hands , but they are a result of individual circumstances.

So yesterday we all had a surprise family meeting, with my two older sisters, myself and mum, and dad ,
missing from the meeting was my younger sister that lives in Darwin ,
she couldn’t attend.

I guess for once I don’t even know how to describe to you  all how I felt , when I sat down at the table  with the girls ,
as I knew with the conversation to come in the next few minutes ,
that the whole dynamics of my family were about to change forever.

My eldest sister started the difficult conversation off that dad would not want to hear.
She told dad
That he was now booked in to Rose Lodge as a new permanent resident.

His initial response was to say no that he is not going to live there.
I was feeling so sad for him on the inside,
But during the following conversation at one stage I explained to dad that it  wasn’t up for negotiating as all the paperwork is in place and he is just awaiting a vacancy .

Mum explained to dad that she is totally worn out and that she just cant do it anymore,
Then dad said something that made me smile a bit on the inside,
He said
Ok , I’ll only agree to go , on one condition.
He then said as long as mum came to live there with him.

I thought how cute .

Mum is nine years younger than dad and in great physical condition, so that possibility is not a consideration,
it was just dads idea .

I actually had thought that  at this meeting that he may actually crack the shits and make a big protest and scene.
But I have to give him full credit for completely keeping his composure and his dignity and in the end the way he eventually graciously accepted his fate.

I told him that even though he will be living there it doesn’t mean that I cant come and pick him up sometimes and take him out for lunch or whatever.

So if no bed comes available for dad in the short term , he is booked in for respite there in July .

After more than sixty years together
Mum absolutely deserves and needs this change, and it will take some time for her to catch her breath and recuperate, as for now for her it’s just become all too hard . 

Afterwards , we all ended up coming back to mum and dads for an impromptu family dinner that night and that was really nice , as I had the thought that it probably could very well be the last .

I guess that from now on until the day he goes in that dad will be trying his hardest to to talk mum out of it ,

But it’s inevitable .

Cheers xxx