A couple of weekends ago my sister, her husband and my two nephews came up. They kind of came up to visit, but it was more of hotel Grandma and Grandpa. My niece, Emily, had her last dance competition in Orlando and rather than pay for a hotel, it was much cheaper to stay at Grandma and Grandpa’s. I really did not see my sister and her husband because they were going down to Orlando to see my niece compete, but I got to hang out with my nephew’s aka babysit them (o.k. not really, but since my Mom has been having troubles with her back again and not feeling well, I had to be the entertainer which I did not mind).

Well, my nephews came prepared aka PS2 and some Driving Games (I always liked driving games and they know it so they brought some). I am not good at the driving games, I tend to crash and tend to lose to my nephews quite a bit, but I don’t mind since I get to Play Video Games which I do not do very often. Plus, it was great to hang out with them since that does not happen very often. I believe one of the games was Krash something. All I know was that it was a fox and friends who drive funny looking cars around shooting at each other trying to win races. There was also another game which I do not recall the name, but it was a fighting game and I got my butt beat a lot. I am the type of person that when I play video games I just push the buttons and hope for the best. I really do and I am absolutely fine with that. My nephews think its funny because of course they are experts, but I truly enjoy just pushing buttons.

Of course it was great to play video games and act like a kid again, but I think the funniest thing I saw the past couple of weeks was my Dad trying to be sneaky. As I think I have stated before, there is this saying that we start out as children, grow up to be adults, but than as we get older, there are tendencies to act like kids again. It is not on purpose, it is just the aging process. My Dad is a very good example. My Mom takes care of him and has to a point all the time they have been married. Being 91 and having health issues, my Dad has relied more heavily on my Mom as if he were a kid again. It is part of the process, but I know it is getting harder on my Mom especially with her own health issues hence why I am here and why my brothers and sisters are trying to get them situated closer up to Gainesville.

Now in regards to being sneaky, it has to do with my Dad snacking. My Dad is not overweight or anything, but should watch what he eats. The problem is that my Dad does not like change. When he does something or eats something, he will refuse to change it. For example, he likes to eat those Chewy Bars. Now usually those Chewy Bars are for in between meals, but my Dad thinks they are dessert. They could be, but the reality is that they are for in between meals as a snack to fill you up so as to not eat other crap. According my Dad, they are dessert which is fine because they are better than cookies or ice cream, but than my Dad eats cookies for a snack. Confused yet? lol

Well, as a kid who tries to sneak a snack in before dinner, which is something I did, my Dad does it all the time. At night is when he does a lot of snacking….partially I think out of boredom. It is so obvious it is actually funny. My Dad will get up from his chair and go in the kitchen to get whatever he wants. Now usually he will come back and sit down, but I know when he is being sneaky about it when he is in the kitchen for a little bit longer than usual. In other words, he is eating something that he shouldn’t. This tends to happen quite a bit and I can say whatever, but my Dad is going to do change no matter what.

Now the one time I caught him outright being sneaky was actually one morning. He was over by the bread box, where he as his Chewy Bars stored, and he was trying to act like he was not doing anything, but of course I knew better. He messed around for a minute and than took a Chewy Bar, tried to hide it in his hands, put his hands close to his pants and walked backed to his chair. I did not say anything because the way he did it was just like a child trying to hide a snack from his parents. I just smiled and walked to my room silently laughing. It was so classic of me when I was little trying to get a Little Debbie snack cake and trying to not let anyone see I took one. Another classic moment at my parents.

Now I am not trying to be mean or anything in regards to my Dad. Helping my parents out, I have gotten to see a lot of things that I have seen on t.v. or read on the internet about getting old or dealing with older parents. The not wanting to change, having child like habits, etc. does happen. I applaud everyone that has kids and raising them, but I have to give a million high fives to adults who take care of their parents especially those with worse ailments than my parents. It is not easy that is for sure. I am lucky that my parents are where they are at. This is not to say it will get worse or harder, but it still is not easy to see your parents, who you thought could do anything when you were a kid, get old and fragile. It is a part of life, but it is something we all have to deal with. You cannot avoid it nor can you not be a part of it.

As I said in other posts, take the time to get to know your parents, to spend time with them and understand what you need to do as they get older. Being prepared physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually will help you prepare when they are gone. They might not physically be here with you when its there time to go, but always know that they will be here in spirit when they are gone watching over you. Understanding that will help you deal with their passing better, remember the great times you had with them and know that they are not suffering anymore. I know this time here will make it a little easier for me when its their time. A year with my parents will be something I will never, ever forget.