When returning home from vacation one usually worries only about re-packing a suitcase, but when visiting your original hometown there's a list of things to do when leaving. At the top: saying goodbye to the people over 90.
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| Helen, 95 |
On the day before departure I drove Helen to church. She's a member of the altar guild, the group that sets up and takes down the various paraphernalia--altar cloths, bread and wine, candles---used in Holy Communion. She needs extra time before and after the service, and sometimes it's difficult for her regular drivers to accommodate that schedule.
I enjoy exchanging pleasantries with the church members in the Parish Hall, where the table is always piled with food. She had several items for me to take back to California. That's why I bring a large suitcase on trips to Hawaii.
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| Doreen, 90, and sons |
The boys brought a pot-luck dinner to Mom's assisted living apartment. She has a plan that serves nutritious meals, but she always declines to go the dining room when we show up. She says it's because of our company; more likely she'd rather eat the fatty, tasty dishes that she never gets downstairs.
Her doctor probably would frown on two consecutive nights of feasting, but how can one say no to someone who just turned 90?
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| Alfred, 94, and sons |
We stopped by Dad's acute-care facility. He was looking better, the diuretics having reduced the bloating. He asked about the iPhone XR--he had been locked out after typing the wrong code; we were working on fixing it. As soon as the doctors give the green light, he could rejoin Mom. I said that I would stop by again tomorrow on the way to the airport. It had been a great trip.
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