Then the penny dropped for me. Wait a minute, I thought, I can’t really do without my father at all. Practical, because I can borrow his car if mine needs to go to the garage. If I have unexpected setbacks, he offers to close the gap. But especially emotionally: the father-daughter bond is strong and has been since I was born. There has been zero fluctuation in 48 years. Such a mama child as my brother was, I am so focused on my father. The idea that he may soon no longer be there, which is real, already grabs me by the throat.
He is more than a father, he is also the beloved grandfather of my teenagers. They will dare to tell you, without batting an eyelid, that he is, by far, their favorite grandparent. The loss of grandma was terrible, although they had less with her, and their other grandmother gives them little attention. So the idea that grandpa is going to take a break is mainly a nightmare for them.
He gives them gifts. Sometimes they are gifts he made himself, such as rings or bracelets (at the age of seventy he was still taking a goldsmith course). When we visit him he always has chocolate or money ‘for something nice’ for the girls. He offers to pay for their lessons if they want to learn to play an instrument. And they don’t miss the fact that he sometimes helps me out. He is an integral part of my single-parent family and the only grown man in my daughter’s circle who showers them with compliments. And even though he likes to talk about himself, because that’s what you do when you’re alone, the granddaughters are the heart of his joie de vivre.
After some testing and questions, the diagnosis came to the geriatrician, which actually surprised no one, but suddenly made it official: Parkinson’s. Dad’s probably had it for a while.
2023-09-02 04:33:32
#official #Parkinsons #live #porridge
