Mas Musica!

I think the title means More Music! Just brushing off my Spanish II brain cells.  Not that Spanish has anything whatsoever to do with this post. More Music! does though.

So my Dad has been in a nursing home for over a year now.  As a family we have wrestled with this choice, and though we feel have made the right decision, I think we still think through the "what-ifs  and "if-only's".  It is not easy to have your Dad/Husband/Grandpa in a nursing home at age 73, but that doesn't mean the nursing home is a horrible place.  I refuse to call it such.  Parkinson's is a HORRIBLE disease, and that is where the problem lies, not in the nursing home. At least not Dad's nursing home.  

I know we have it good here.  Most nursing homes leave a lot to be desired.  But here, we have pretty darn good nurses, a nice facility, good doctors, fresh popcorn most hours of the day, and a large basement where the grandkids can all get together and play hide-n-seek or sardines if they choose.  Oh, and we also have Judy.

Judy. Judy. Judy.  She can call a Bingo game like nobody's business.  She dresses up like Mario for her grandson's birthday party ( I know this because I work with her daughter and have seen the photographic evidence). She also directs a pretty mean handbell choir and makes us cry like babies whenever she puts on a special program for the residents and their families.  So this past Saturday she did both.  My dad plays in the handbell choir and he does a great job.  They all do.  It amazes me how good they sound!  They played some traditional hymns, and ended with "I Love You Lord." Not a dry eye in the place - let me tell you.  I'm sure it was a sweet, sweet sound in His ear.

And so the nursing home provides me with an experience that I probably would have never had.  I got to see and hear my Dad perform - to loud cheers and clapping no less! I am so proud of him! Maybe it is just the smallest opportunity for me to repay the countless hours of concerts, track meets, basketball games, and school plays both he and mom attended in the years we were growing up.  They always let us know how proud they were of us too.  Sometimes you find your blessings in the darnedest places.