I want to tell you about the most special senior in my life, my dad. He just turned 94 on Aug 3. He went from being type A and demanding to a ball of love, just pure love. I’m so happy we got through all those hard years growing up with a dad like him and I can enjoy my new ball of love. It’s what I always wanted - my daddy to love me. he tells me I am precious to him. It’s a beautiful thing and very healing. My dad’s not just living, he’s smart too.
I gave him my old iPad a few years ago and taught him to use it. He picked it up relatively fast and has been thanking me ever since. It keeps his mind occupied. Mostly he reads and watches war movies and videos.
More recently, I showed him how to use FaceTime to call my siblings. The joy on his face when he sees one of us is just beautiful. It’s like he is totally surprised that we’re there. “Oh, Lindsay!!“, he’ll say, as if seeing her is the greatest gift in the world. We usually make appointments to FaceTime with him, but the other night, he called me out of the blue! It was a great surprise. We’re both hard of hearing, so reading lips and facial expressions is an important part of the video. Talking on the phone has become problematic, so FaceTime is saving our family from being disconnected. Thanks, Apple.