RaisingDad

I don't know how my dad knows, but he does.      Yesterday, he was in his room all morning long but somehow, as soon as my grandson made himself comfortable in the great room and turned the TV on, he sensed a disturbance in The Force, and walked out.      How?  How does he know when someone else is enjoying the TV?      Who knows? Certainly not me.      If I was sitting in front of the set and my wife were nearby, I'd let him have a seat in his-- my-- favorite chair and take control of the remote control. Not that my father would make a fuss if he didn't get his way. He'd huff and puff and grunt and groan, but he wouldn't complain. He'd let his body's various exclamations do the complaining for him.      But when it's his great-grandson who's sitting in front of the set, my father will keep his audible gripings to a minimum...

Yesterday, my father had been napping in his -- my --favorite chair in the great room for over thirty minutes. He was busy trying to figure out what he was watching on TV when he nodded off.      It was The Price Is Right , for your information. The Price Is Right is one of the rare shows on TV that I'll watch with my father because I happen to think the models who point at this and point at that should be the prizes.      But don't tell my wife.      My father's television watching usually goes like this: He walks in, sits down, and waits for someone--usually my wife--to turn on the TV for him. As soon as the TV light comes on, my father's lights go out.      "Are you asleep, Dad?" I'll ask him, just to make sure he's still alive.      " Snore! " he'll answer.       I was in the kitchen rea...

My wife loves me.      I know this without a doubt.      We've been married too many years for me to mention because it might give you an idea of how old she is. We've had kids and grandkids, houses and homes, and moved from here to there. Mainly there. But who does she ask first when she's offering pie?      You guessed it.      My father.      "Dad," she says, making her first mistake "do you want some pie?"      I say it's a mistake, because instead of just bringing him a slice of pie, which he would then enthusiastically consume without complaint, she tries to engage him in conversation and give him a choice, which she feels is important for him.      I've found it's better to just say, "Here's some pie, Dad," and then hand him his plate.      If you hand my father anyt...