Almost....

It is the night before the day that my family and I have patiently waited for...my dad is coming home tomorrow!  It has been 39 days since my dad had his stroke.  Some days it feels like it has only been a week and other days it feels like it has been months. I am proud of all that my dad has accomplished in such a short amount of time.  I am confident that he will continue to improve, especially being in the comfort of his own home.  I haven't blogged much about him the past few days,  I haven't even been up to see him yesterday or today.  I have been helping my brother and sister get things in order at home.  After a day like today, well lets just say they are probably happy that I am home now and they get a break!  We deep cleaned the house to get it "company clean," only this time it was all about welcoming dad home, not trying to impress people who only come occasionally or for a specific purpose!  After a day of cleaning like this my dad would say, "hold on let me get out my white glove."  It was a joke to see if things were clean!  I allowed my siblings a break for lunch, wasn't that nice of me?  On my way back from lunch I stopped to pick up some essentials that my dad would need to make his transition to home a little easier, and save my mom some time from having to go get these last minute items.  After finishing the house I then pushed the lawnmower down and cut the yard, making sure all the lines in the grass are even and straight....because I have nothing better to do with my time!  Half way through cutting the yard one of the wheels fell off the lawnmower, but I didn't let that stop me...I pushed through it and cut the rest of the front yard while holding the mower up and pushing it forward since it had one wheel that was dangling.  I got a good workout that way.  Unfortunately I think I might have to start looking into buying a new lawnmower...I don't really think cutting three yards with a lawnmower with only 3 wheels will work out too well....I try not to think about the fact that this would be easy for my dad to just swap out the decks since the motor still works great....there is so much that I miss about him, and so much about what he did for me that I took for granted.  Life changes so fast. 

I am glad that he will come home to a yard that has been kept up with and a clean house and of course all of us!  I have so many feelings though - anticipation, fear of the unknown, will we be able to understand each other? This is where the new normal becomes more real for each of us.  We have adjusted and been there to encourage him every step of the way, but have also known that a nurse is taking care of most of his needs - now we have to help him transition to being home and be his own personal nurses! What will that look like?  Will he be more stubborn about the helmet at home?  Will he understand the limitations right now?  Will he try to over do it? Will he be happy?  How will therapy work?  How will we coordinate schedules so somebody is with him?  I know we will make it all work out.  I love my dad so much and I am so happy that he is coming home!

Special thanks to his physical therapists for the pictures in today's blog....I think my dad pointing to the Brooks sign should be used by Brooks somehow....