Thanks for starting this thread, Wild Coyote! I actually just wrote about my dad in the check-in thread. He, unfortunately, has shingles and is quarantined in his room at an assisted living facility. I called him a few minutes ago. He's miserable. I gave him an assignment to create a list of his favorite meals that he'd like when he gets home. He is scheduled to come home in 9 days. He said he's finally going to do it. I hope that is so. I didn't send a card or gift this year. Just a call. My sister sent him a balloon and something else. The assisted facility brought him a mini cake to celebrate the day.

It is very sad when a parent ages in a way that their lifetime personality seems to change, and they abandon many of their lifetime hobbies/loves. I do hope that now, if he can stay away from drinking, that he will become a little more the man he always was. My father was always a wonderful storyteller who loved nature, gardening, fishing, hunting, and family. Though I realize that his physical limitations will prevent him from fully enjoying some of those hobbies, they don't prevent all. He still has all of his children, one living grandson, and his younger brother. He still has some cousins that he always got along with well. I am almost thinking that a family reunion of sorts may be in order sometime soon. He must stay sober and see that not everything is lost. The loss of my mother and youngest nephew were hard blows for him, as was the loss of one of his brothers not long ago. Loss is so hard to deal with, I think especially for people with mental health issues. I know. I even feared we'd lost my dad.