| By :
Mark Etinger
Every time we visit my Grandfather in the nursing home we have a routine. It is important for someone of his age and in his condition to feel some sense of normalcy and regularity. In order for us to prevail over his current condition and visit in a way that is pleasant for us and him we have to keep to set schedules. This is also do to the fact that his medication regiment depends on when he takes his meals and his daily exercise. We have to make him feel at ease because as he grows older he has picked up early symptoms of dementia. Luckily we can still feel his presence and at the moment he is still mostly quite lucid. It was not always this way. My Grandfather was a tough old cookie. He worked construction mostly during my life. He did so until he 68 years young, I say that not out of flattery but because he truly seemed young. He would bound around the beams of high rises that late in life with a tranquility most of us don't feel on the solid ground. He was a perfect man. Wholly himself after decades of experience, fluidly intelligent and physically able, and happy. It was a great time to see him alive. Thinking about those times makes me more than a little wistful. Now we mostly watch old movies which he always loved. Anything with Cary Grant or Audrey Hepburn. My father while on these visits always attends to matters at hands with Grandpa's senior living facility, bills and just general check in stuff. It is really great that we know Grandpa is in a good place. It affords my father a bit of tranquility with the whole situation, which I imagine would be gut wrenching for anybody. But my Father always a good son(and a great Dad by the way) manages to make it through it all while offering his old man a smile, a joke, a help with some stuff around his room and a reminder that his family loves him and is available whenever he needs us. Depends on the day, but sometimes I leave their quite sad. It is troubling to know that a person who you care about and who's side you are leaving for an indefinite period of time might pass on. That said there are other times when I live happy and confident that not only does Grandpa still have it, he is just as sharp as he ever was. This happened a recent weekend while we were watching Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. He made several hilarious quips during the movie and on my out stood up out of his chair to hug me and vigorously pat me on the back. It was an amazing moment. I am pretty sure I saw my Dad tear up. In good way.
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