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I'm a wife, mother and grandmother. I'm opinionated. I contradict myself frequently. Most of all, I love my kids. I believe in them. I fight for them. They're weird and wonderful. If you want to know more, here's a bunch of other stuff from my old site.

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I Can’t Fill Her Shoes

  • by Marisa
  • July 31, 2008

My mom was finally discharged from the hospital. I picked her up yesterday, loaded her luggage and walker into the car and delivered her to my dad. He was ecstatic.

I’ve loved tending to my dad this past week or so. He’s still aware enough to be able to do many things for himself but is at that age (and stage of Alzheimer’s) where he really couldn’t care for himself for an entire week without help. I know he doesn’t remember every detail of the past week but he does realize that I’ve been here taking care of him. And he still has that wonderful sense of humor, too.

Once we got my mom settled into her recliner in the living room, she asked my dad how his week was. He said it was good to have his wife home instead of his mother. Then he looked at me with that sheepish grin and we all just laughed. I know he didn’t always want to eat when I fed him and he got irritated when I tried to help him walk, but as along as he saw my caring for him as “mothering” then it’s all good.

I know my mom was anxious to get home. My dad was even more anxious. No matter how well I cared for him, it just wasn’t the same. After 51 years together, I guess no one can fill my mom’s shoes in my dad’s mind. She’s one in a million.

What Others Like You Have Said

9 Responses to “I Can’t Fill Her Shoes”

  • Aww that’s so sweet! Thanks for putting a smileon my face today. Glad you’re mom is back home safe n sound!

    ~Blythe

    only background Blythe (0 comments.)August 1,. 2008 in the at around evening time

  • They’re both so cute. I’m glad she’s home, and that the surgery went well.

    only background Tammie (29 comments.)August 5,. 2008 in the terribly early in the morning

  • They are really cute like Tammie said. Your Dad’s view of the situation is funny, I guess we do tend to parent our parents at times.

    only background Debo Hobo (1 comments.)August 6,. 2008 in the in the late afternoon

  • Hi Marisa,

    You might have noticed that the Photo-A-Day images from The BenSpark have not been showing up for a week now. Something happened to the feed coming from Buzznet. I have been very disappointed in their performance and in an effort to fix the problem as well as cut down the work I do each night to make sure the images get out to everyone I have made a switch to Flickr to deliver the Photo-A-Day images. I have new code on The BenSpark (http://www.benspark.com/photo-a-day) that you can use to update the widget. This should prevent any need to update the code again. I apologize for the lack of images lately and I thank you for hosting Photo-A-Day on your Blog.

    only background BenSpark (1 comments.)August 6,. 2008 in the in the early evening

  • It is nice to read through your posts and see that your family is doing well and your moms knee is getting better after surgery. Wow, 51 years together…That is awesome! Sounds like you have some awesome parents, and they have an awesome daughter!

    only background Monavie (1 comments.)August 7,. 2008 in the at around evening time

  • You sound like such a kind person.

    only background Claire (3 comments.)August 21,. 2008 in the just before lunchtime

  • Great Post, Thanks….

    Brady Jon,

    only background Brady jon (1 comments.)August 23,. 2008 in the in the wee hours

  • It’s a good thing that she is well now. Surgery is a scary thing. Glad that she made it.

    only background Monita (1 comments.)August 26,. 2008 in the in the late afternoon

  • I’m glad everything went ok.

    only background milo (1 comments.)September 1,. 2008 in the in the late afternoon