January 28, 2010

January 28, 2010

On Tuesday Dad was really together – when Kate S. complained to him about her new bifocals he told her she should just get two pairs of glasses, one for daily life and one for reading. She told him her insurance wouldn't cover it, and he asked “How much would it cost?” while reaching for his wallet.

The next day, though, he was back to being disoriented – he spent several hours asking me and Brianna the same questions over and over again. “Where do I go if I have to pee?” “Do I own this building?” “Are there two beds?” When the questions finally stopped, he kept chatting, but he was making less and less sense – at once point he just started repeating the word “fuck” over and over. He wasn't upset or raising his voice, he was saying it like any other word. We figured he was tired, but trying to get him to bed didn't work – he vehemently insisted that he wasn't tired, and when Brianna suggested he go lie down, he glared at her suspiciously and said, “I know why you want me to go to bed!” When we asked him why, he said “You want my seat!” At that point we gave up and let him stay up, figuring JayLynn would get him to bed later, but she couldn't do it either – he stayed up until 6am!!!

I thought he'd be totally wiped out today and expected to find him in bed, but he was awake when I got here, though yawning. Today's questions were all about Obama: “First black president?” “Yes, Dad,” “Very good.” “Many people object?” “Yes, Dad, some racist people do.” “Anybody try to shoot him?” “No, Dad.” “Must have lots of guards?” “Yes, Dad.” “First black president?” “Yes, Dad,” etc.

Then he went to the bathroom and came out with something entirely else on his mind: “How many billions of shits have been shat?” he wondered aloud. From there, he moved on to toilet paper - “I wonder how many rolls . . . it's a wonder there's any paper left in the world!” At that point, I decided that a distraction was in order, so I scooped up the cat and put her in his lap.