And the Fun Continues...

Another busy day Up North. It just happened that there was something completely different each day but it was good to participate in all of it -- and only have to make the long drive up once!

A free morning gave me a chance to go visit my dad at the nursing home. I had stopped in last night, too, but they had just put him to bed so we kept our visit short and I said I'd be back today around 10 a.m. Most reports on Dad lately have indicated that he is quite alert at breakfast and mornings are the best time to visit.

Well I show up at 10 or so and he is already napping! I tried to wake him up gently. I mean, really, how much do you want to startle someone already hooked up to an oxygen tank? So I just sat there and kind of woke him up a few times. He'd open his eyes, acknowledge I was there with a grunt of sorts, then fall back to sleep.

One of my sisters and her daughter came, too. He didn't stay awake for them either. Finally, a nurse just came in and sat him up ("I'm awake now"} and put him in his wheelchair. So we did get to visit a bit. He's got plenty of fluid in his lungs, etc, making him cough. Today it was so hot and humid, I imagine that just made it worse.

He did manage a few smiles for us. And, quite frankly, even in his tired and weak state, he seems 10 times better than a few weeks ago. So we'll see. He claims his doctor told him he is doing so good he doesn't have to see him for three months. Yes, we'll definitely see.

From there we went down to my old church -- Laketown Lutheran -- to gather at the fellowship hall there for a bridal shower for my nephew David's fiance Sara. They are getting married in June.

My twin sister and I revived our "routine" from when we did the area bridal shower circuit some 35 years ago... when we were just one year old or something. We discovered yesterday that we both remembered not only the words, but the actions, too. So we decided to go for it. We sure did a lot of giggling trying to practice it but it went off without a hitch. We also enjoyed lunch, a game, giving presents to Sara and meeting some of her family. A pleasant afternoon.

I hit the road back to Wisconsin Rapids at 3:30 and, thanks to going a different route home that did NOT involve I-94, I made it in 3 1/2 hours! The odometer reading of some 550 miles reflects how well-traveled (read: worn out) I feel. Totally worth it, though!

Will hit the hay shortly. And for the second time this year, I will not need my electric mattress pad on. No, in fact, we have a fan going.

Just loud enough to drown out my singing of those silly shower songs... and a few of those '80s tunes still stuck in my head.

Don't stop believing...