Tom's attitude now

Last week Dad and I went shopping. I drop him off at the door and he jumps on one of their little motorized carts as usual. I go and find a place to park and he drives inside.
I get inside the store and see that Dad is racing around all over the produce area looking at all the produce. Those of you that know how Dad drives should be familiar with how he drives a scooter too...full speed or full stop. He goes from whatever he's looking for to the next item on his list as fast as his cart will take him. He never looks to see if there are little kids he may run over..he just goes like hell. Granted, they don't go that fast, but he doesn't even slow down going around to another aisle.
Everywhere I go with a shopping basket, he stops right beside me so nobody else can get down the aisle. He can't hardly hear anymore either..which is annoying because he can't hear the beep of his scooter when he is holding the button to go in reverse. He spent an hour driving me absolutely insane in the grocery store. He doesn't understand why I can't stand to go shopping with him...but if he could see and hear everything that I see he would understand perfectly. I heard a latino woman telling her kids to watch out for that "crazy bald man" driving like an idiot.
I sincerely hope that he doesn't hurt some little kid because he has absolutely no patience anymore. I'll probably be bald too because he's making me pull my hair out!

Old Age Observations

Life has got to be tough when you are 77 years old. Luckily, Dad's mind is still very sharp. Until about 3 years ago, Dad was still acting normal...for him anyway. He ran around at full speed everywhere he went and everything he did.

He has slowed down now in his gait and comprehension. Don't get me wrong, he's still very sharp. He's just gotten very impatient and walks like an old man now. There is still the fire burning to do things that he shouldn't attempt anymore. He gets focused on something and has no capacity to let it go. Dad has no tolerance for procrastination. Get it done and get it done NOW!

Sometimes the impatience drives me nuts. I do understand the urgency though when any day could be your last. The little things that have his focus become major obstacles if I'm not around to make it happen. It makes it difficult to go and do jobs when he's worried about something like his garden. Yeah, I cater to my father to appease his whims because he's been a great Dad.

In the twilight of life, people get panicky. They require attention, care and respect. Their opinions matter because it's founded on a long life of experience. So if you see someone who is old and having a hard time accomplishing a task...just know that they deserve your respect and they deserve help. They earned it!