Jake loves the study of space and NASA. On his bucket list was a trip to the Kennedy Space Center. Heather lives near there and assured Jake he would be able to check that off his bucket list when he visited. On Thursday, February 21st, Jake sent this picture. As a child one of his favorite toys was a stuffed Snoopy dog. How fun to find one dressed as an astronaut! He and Heather were able to watch a SpaceX Rocket Launch that evening. They toured the center and also took the bus tour of the area. He was in heaven...pun intended.
I have been communicating with a cousin. His mother, Vera, and my father, Vernon, are sister and brother. Hershel Culpepper is his name. He sent me a message with this little story from Papa's past.
"Hey Sandi, I'm fix'in to go to bed but just thought of something. We were living in Winnfield when I was in the 5th grade. There was a fund raiser at Winnfield Elementry school for something, can't remember what. When you go into the school auditorium, the first 4-5 rows were level but it sloped from there on down to the stage. Vernon and John Edward and some of their friends were one of the groups playing that night. During a quiet moment between their songs, someone on one of the back rows dropped a glass baby bottle, the ones that had the square sides to it. It rolled all the way down to the front of the stage and every time it hit one of the metal seat legs there was a loud CLANG. Everybody in the whole auditorium stopped talking and it got real quiet except for the rolling glass bottle. It CLANGED all the way down. Everyone was waiting to see if it was going to break. When the bottle rolled all the way down to the front of the stage, I think it was Vernon that picked it up, held it up and said that someone had dropped a baby bottle. Everybody started laughing. But no one ever came to pick it up. lol Don't know if Vernon would be able to remember that or not but you can ask. Would really be neat if he remembered."
Hershel also sent me a family picture which I will share.
Front Row: Diane Lawrence, Melba Lou Culpepper, Sandi Lawrence Christensen (me), Jimmy Culpepper, Junie Lawrence Gulbrandsen, Roy and Robin Lawrence.
Seated on the Ground: Brenda Gail Lawrence, Neffie Lawrence Hurst.
This is a lot of my father's family. Gramma Duck was married to William (Bill) Conner and had two sons. Odis died as a little boy. Oliver is Uncle Buddy. Bill Conner died and Gramma eventually married Grampa and they had four boys and a daughter. I am guessing Uncle Marvin is taking the picture as he is not in the picture. Hershel, Melba Lou and Jimmy are Aunt Vera's children. Diane, Roy and Robin are Uncle Marvin and Aunt Margie's children. Roy and Robin both had muscular dystrophy, hence the wheel chairs. Sandi, Junie and Neffie are Vernon and Virginia's children. Barbara and Brenda Gail are Uncle Salty and Aunt Doris' children. They have one son named Glen who is not in the picture. This was taken at Gramma & Grampa's home with a Winnfield, Louisiana address. I believe I already had this picture but it was great fun to show it to Papa and see if he could remember any of these people. Nope, he really couldn't. Didn't even recognize Mimi. But as I pointed them out the memory came back to him.
Papa Update: When at the nursing home the CNA who cares for Papa and the other residents on his hallway called me into the hallway to talk. She explained that Papa seemed to be having a break with reality that day. At breakfast he walked himself down to the dining room and ate all his breakfast. Then he went back to his room for a bit. Then he walked back to the dining room and wanted his breakfast. Rachel explained that he had already eaten and she could get him a roll or something but his breakfast was finished. He was not happy with this at all. She also had him ask her repeatedly when his wife was coming to see him. My mother has been deceased since July 2012. Papa has always spoken of her as deceased, until this day. The CNA was concerned and wanted me to be aware. While I visited with Papa, I noticed several things he said that were just not right. I asked him how his game was going when I sent back into his room after speaking with Rachel. He asked me what game. I pointed to my old Kindle and the game of Solitaire he was playing. He assured me that was not a game. I asked him what it should be called then if it was not a game. He thought for a minute and then said, "Well, I guess it could be called a game." As I drove home I pondered the events of my afternoon visit. Papa's going to breakfast twice is the one that really troubles me. Papa has always eaten to stay alive. He has a big belly but that is from no exercise. If I bring him a home baked goodie when I visit and he has just eaten, he will pass on eating the goodie until later as he is full. This means he didn't recognize he was full when he went a second time for breakfast. To me, that is a serious loss in ability. Him asking for Mimi (my mother) could be explained as Papa really asking when Sandi was going to visit and getting me mixed up with Mimi. My hair is gray and the length mom's was when she died. There is a lot of my mother in me and I can see that confusion as his brain fails. But the eating is another story completely.
Wednesday, February 27th, Claude and I took Papa or a long car ride in the morning. We left at 9:30am and returned him to the nursing home at 12 noon. He talked the entire time. One thing after another just running things together and talking lots of incorrect things or just things that seem logical to him but really are not. It was nonstop the entire time. Claude and I really said nothing except me giving Claude directions for the drive and me offering Papa a hard candy. When we got back to the nursing home and went in to check him back in, he was so thankful for the outing and apologized for talking the entire time. Bless his heart.
Yesterday, the Bishop and his son and one other young man came to the nursing home to bring Papa the sacrament. Right after they gave him the bread he wanted talk and explain what they were doing. Papa knows to be reverent as the prayers are said and while partaking of the sacrament. I kept having to put my hand gently on his shoulder and tell him we would talk after the sacrament was over. He was just bursting to speak. He did the same thing right after taking the water.
We'll just watch and see how he does. He is well but having a hard time moving even a step without the walker being close at hand. He keeps saying he will soon be in a wheel chair. And mentally he has definitely gone down another peg.
Claude and I earned our date on that Wednesday evening. Papa has never liked silence and that is truly magnified with his chatter now. Claude, on the other hand, is very comfortable with silence. That incessant talking for all those hours was really hard on Claude. Fortunately, we had tickets to see James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt at Rupp Arena that night. Talk about a great concert. It was amazing. We have seen James Taylor before and he was outstanding. Never saw Bonnie Raitt until that night and I truly enjoyed her performance. She sang the first half of the show. James Taylor sang the last half of the show. They ended the evening with a few numbers together. If you ever have the chance, this show is well worth the price of admission.
No comments:
Post a Comment