Personal Thaw

Compounding the aggressive feeling of hopelessness in helping my parents is the general environment itself. Winter thus far has been a bit of a beast from Kansas City to here. Today the temps finally crawl above freezing and some of the snow and ice have begun to melt. Though we have a long time to go before winter is done, moments of humor and signs of spring help me personally thaw out as well.

My only moment of foodiness yesterday came from books and oddly, my parent's favorite evening show..Wheel of Fortune. Every night we gather to watch the local news followed by NBC News with Brian Williams then finally the all-powerful Wheel. We bond with Pat and Vanna and my parents take this time to try to solve the puzzles and give their failing minds a bit of a workout. Last night's theme was international food and I was so excited that when the first puzzle appeared, I blurted out the answer much to my parent's chagrin. Way to go, Wheel Stud...how magnanimous of you to beat your mentally ill parents at their own game. Obviously, I need to get out of the house....that would be a pic of my childhood home above.

Today, I did get out and stopped by the Greenhouse where they have been decorating for spring. The bright colors and in particular the rainforest display were instant spirit lifts. Had a bite of Kaki's delicious hash brown casserole before heading to her home for a bit of mental respite before heading back to the folk's.

My parent's neighbor Bobby provided a humorous story about Dad. Bobby has been a godsend by watching out for my folks and driving Dad around for his errands. He told me of asking Dad for his keys at which point my father removed his false teeth and handed them to Bobby. Bobby then said,"Your keys, Rex....not your teeth." It may seem as if I'm mocking my father but rest assured that is not the case. We, my parents included, must find the humor as always and Dad laughs at the story as well. That's my Dad....he'll give you the teeth right out of his mouth.

Another surefire way to personal thaw is remembering the world is much bigger than your own problems. The horror and tragedy that has befallen Haiti from that earthquake reveals an entire people desperately in need. ABC News says that CareUSA is one of the groups that is not a scam and is already doing good work. They are working to get much-needed food to the area. Click on the following link to learn how to help...

http://www.care.org/emergency/haitiearthquake/index.asp