Hot days in Corona

So dad’s been chillin’ in the nursing home in Corona. By chillin’ of course I mean, burning his butt off. Last weekend, as we were crying about the heat wave in LA (90 degrees) it was 107! in Corona. Old people love that heat, though. When I went to visit dad last week, his brother came with me, and the 2 of them sat outside and played backgammon as I went inside to sort my dads personal belongings. This weekend I planned on visiting dad Monday and maybe Sunday. Saturday morning, I was surprised to get a call from him, “I’m coming home.” My heart stopped. It seems he was coming home for the day, only. My sister was bringing him to just check on his house. It was his first time home since the stroke. He sifted through his stuff, started his car (he was concerned the battery would die), tended to the garden, said hello to John the neighbor (he’s been feeding Dad’s blind cat), and most importantly, took a bath in his own tub. Psychologically, it’s a huge morale booster to be able to see himself being able to live on in his own environment. I’ve started to move my stuff into his place, and it seemed comforting to him to envision us living together. After the bath and a fresh change of clothes, we headed to his favorite Persian restaurant (surprise!) Darya.

Today, I went to visit him again. The heat wave of last week yielded way to a nice cool 80 degrees today. After we hung out a bit, we went to the home of one of the Baha’is in Corona. They had a nice gathering for the whole community (20 people) to come together and study the Ridvan 2008 message of the Universal House of Justice. The opportunity to share with my father (and sister) in a Baha’i activity, and help to deepen a whole community on such an important message. Add to that experience, the participation of the youth and jr youth (including my nieces and nephew), you have a wonderful family event.

Dad’s physical health, much like his emotional health, needs exercise, several times a day. When he does his exercises, his half-smile, paralyzed toe, and limp hand start to show signs of recovery. The key is he needs to do those exercises everyday, as many times as possible. Because if he misses 1 day, the momentum of recovery halts. In regards to his emotional recovery, he remains strong. He really wants to get out of the nursing home, but knows he’s not strong enough to do without the nurses watchful eye. Though he can almost bath by himself, he’s not quite independent. Though he can remove his socks and pants, he has trouble putting the new ones on, and that fine line between independence and nursing home is nibbling away at his spirit. I can only remind him that he needs to continue his exercises, and I ask any of you who speak to him to do the same. Otherwise, for the rest of us, please continue to focus your prayers on his strength and will. And he can do the rest.