I decided to take vacation Monday and Tuesday of this week to help my Dad and Ilse get settled. I don't think I could have kept my mind on work yesterday if I hadn't. When I got there yesterday my Dad said "Thank god you're here." I helped him make phone calls to Kaiser insurance and his eye Dr about getting a new pair of glasses since his pair was very damaged. The Dr office was a bit stubborn and tried to tell me that they could not fax a prescription anywhere it would have to be mailed. I said you can and you will. If you won't I want to talk to someone above you. They said they would talk to one of the optometrists when they got in. They never called back when they said they would, so I called them. They said the Dr was with a patient and they would talk to him when he was finished. I had to make one more phone call before I got someone who know Dad and Ilse and actually helped. We found out later at Lenscrafters that when they faxed over the prescription they never even sent a note with it. We got to Lenscrafter at around 3 and his glasses were finished at around 4:45. It would have been sooner, but my Dad is very talkative and so was the woman who helped him. After we left Westdale he wanted me to stop at Walmart and get him two resin chairs for his deck and a little patio table.
Anyway after we made the first call to Kaiser, I thought it would be a good idea to call the moving company to see where the truck with the furniture was. They were glad that I had called because they said they never got a phone number to call anyone. My Dad says he thought they gave them my phone number. They gave me the truck drivers cell number just in case. I called him and left a message on his voicemail. Later he called and said that he was sorry no one had contacted us to say his truck had broken down and he would not be here until Wednesday morning around 8 AM.
In between all of this I convinced Ilse to get up out of bed, get dressed and come to my house. She was just lying around looking very colorless and acting like she was on her death bed. I told her she needed to get up and move around and get out. My Dad had me take his station wagon to get gas in it at the Sinclair station. Ilse was looking so much better when she got to our house. She said she loved our house. Mao was a very good boy and let her pet him (rather roughly for him to normally allow). I think he knows better than to bite old people. She sat in the living room and talked with Doug while I put some of their laundry in and got a few things they needed for the next few days together. A frying pan, spatula, bowls, plates, silverware, blankets and our folding table. Doug helped me put the table in the car. My Dad wanted Maid Rites, so I left Ilse with Doug while I got the food. Dad told me to get whatever Doug and I wanted too. I ended up buying 7 maid-rites and an order of onion rings. Doug had 2 maid-rites and onion rings, I had 1 maid-rite. The other four were for my Dad and Ilse. While she was at our house Ilse ate some ratatouille. She said it was very nurishing. Later my Dad had some and he said, "Wow, tell Doug this is like a gourmet meal!"
While we were at our house my Dad decided be wanted to move a small heavy dresser that was in his garage to the kitchen to get his mail and medication organized. He joked that he carried it in on his back. He actually says that he tumbled it all of the way through the garage, up the deck steps, acroos the deck into the house until he got it to the kitchen. It's know wonder he was pretty exhouseted the rest of the day. When I left them Ilse looked much better than he did.
While my Dad and I were at the mall getting his glasses, Isle was at home resting and getting to know one of the neighbors behind them. She said she took the dogs out and a neighbor dog was out. The dogs owner was in her yard and started talking to Ilse. I think Ilse was proud of herself for talking to a neighbor with no one else there. My Dad always says she is very shy. When we got back from Westdale, I took Ilse to Hy Vee to get some thing they needed. She seemed to like the store, but she thought the groceries were a little higher than in California.
After we got back with the groceries I was getting ready to put my Dad's car in the garage, the neighbor on the other side of the driveway asked if I was her new neighbor. I told her my Dad and Stepmother were. She asked if she could meet here. I had to convince Ilse to come out, but she did. I think the neighbor is older than them because she said she had been married to her late husband just short of 60 years. She also has lived in her house since it was brand new. She told us her name is Geraldine and everyone calls her Jerry. I think she is going to make sure they meet all the old people in the neighborhood.
All in all it was a very tiring day. I got there at 7 AM and got home about 7:20 PM. I think I helped them accomplish a lot. Today I am going back to help Ilse clean out her cupboards and put down need contact paper. She is worried about butting her dishes in dirty cupboards. The cupboards are actually very clean compared to what ours looked like when we moved into our house. I also need to help clean the shower and bathtub in the bathrooms. I am going to try to break away earlier today. It can be very tiring trying to get old people to stay on track.