the tenth good thing about my dad #7

The seventh good thing about my dad was that he enjoyed life. My dad enjoyed the simple things, the little things that are easy to overlook.

(Photo credits for this blog entry go to Amy Cook)

He liked shiny and colorful things. He collected colored glass that he would display in places where the sunlight would shine through them.


He liked eating. The food didn't need to be fancy, just decent. He knew how to savor the meal to make the most out of each bite. It was typical for my dad to be the last one finished with his meal although he didn't eat more than other people.

He like looking at the coins in his pocket at the end of the day, examining them closely to find old or unusual coins and collecting the newest state quarters when they were issued.

He like number patterns and would often comment on the odometer in the car when it reached an interesting number.


He enjoyed watching the birds and squirrels that would gather at the numerous bird feeders he kept outside the picture window.


My dad's fascination for the simple things in life caused me to pause and look at my life more closely.

Journal entry 1/12/08
I went to spiritual empheses services in the evening. When I came home Leon and Amy were here-said they could hardly get him to the bathroom with two of them. I should have asked for someone to stay with me but didn't. Awful night! Dad wasn't helping anymore-dead weight. Made it to the bath with wheelchair but had to do the lifting and he was grabbing things and holding on tight instead of holding on to me and then I had to struggle with him to move. Tried the camode next time but couldn't get him back into chair all the way. He kept asking for help and I couldn't move him any-kept repositiing the chair and telling him I was sorry. Finally called Cooks in the AM to move him to the hospital bed.