Tuesday, Tuesday...

Last Sunday was Father's Day, so we went over to dad's and I gave him a card and told him we'd take him out to dinner one day this week. He asked when so I threw out Tuesday, because Dad loves to eat at Boyd and Charlie's and Tuesday night is Burger Night, where you get a 10-ounce burger and fries for $5.59 - what a deal, right? Well, this whole thing was coming up with Tilley and Callie, Lisa's dogs from Oklahoma and I had forgotten that Tuesday was the day Lisa was bringing them to Omaha. I'm taking Tilley on up to Kate in St. Paul (we're meeting in Clive, Iowa, again), and my friend India was taking Callie. D'oh - ad Homer Simpson would say. I thought maybe we would have to change the day, but that didn't work out as planned.

Dad called me this morning when I was talking to India and asked me when we were going to dinner, and he sounded very upset and was crying. I told him that we'd still go tonight, but I wasn't sure what time since Tilley was coming. He said okay, but I could tell he was still upset, but he told me nothing was wrong. Turns out I had forgotten we were meeting with his lawyer today at 12, so Mel sent me a text to remind me and I called to talk to her for a second and she said she was home today so I asked what was wrong with dad. Well, he had called my cell twice (once at 7:42 a.m.!!!) and I hadn't answered, so he wanted my home phone number and when Missy told him what it was he couldn't dial the phone because he didn't know which numbers were which. *sigh* I guess I knew this day was coming. I had read about something similar in the book "36 Hours", where a person with dementia can still read and knows what the word is, but it has no meaning for them. I guess this is similar, so dad has reached a new level, or gone down another level, depending on how you look at it.

So, dinner tonight was special to me. Of course I've known for months what was happening with dad - I saw it myself as far back as when Matt and Mirisa lived with him, but he seems to be sliding toward that abyss so much faster lately. He's been so unsteady on his feet, and it was much worse tonight-and even today at the lawyer's office, that I know it won't be long before taking him out anywhere is gong to be a major undertaking, if it's possible at all. He loves to hear about Hailey, anything I say about her makes him smile, so I told him about her loving to sing and saying, "Sing, Nana!" or "Sing, Papa" when we stop singing with her to enjoy her little voice. I told him we had gotten her a trike and hopefully she'll be excited about it when we see her next. I think about my grandparents and how happy they were when I had Meghan and I know my dad is just as thrilled hearing about Hailey - the years have just flown by. Seems like only yesterday that I had my Grandma Erikson come to my house for Christmas, and all 4 of her grandchildren (at the time) sat near her for a picture. I'd love to get a picture with Ryan, Hailey, and Vince, but the logistics of that are crazy! Anyway, I treat every dinner like this as a special occasion. I don't know how many more I'll have with my dad, I cherish every one.

Okay, now that I'm crying my stupid head off...

Lisa brought Callie and Tilley today. Poor Tilley. I think I need to get larger dogs when the time comes, they're so much more mellow then my weenies. Tilley is scared to death of them - and I can understand why. Poor sweetie. She's watched her mom take all her family memebers away one by one and when she comes back they aren't with her. Plus, she just lost her home and had to stay in Colorado for awhile, then today she goes for a ride with Callie and her mom leaves her. If my dogs were nicer to her I'd keep her for awhile before taking her to Kate, just to give her some time to adjust; but Kate and CJ have Keena, so she'll be seeing her sister again tomorrow and I hope that helps her a bit. They can compare notes about how horrid my house was and how glad they are to be with Kate! LOL! Poor things.

Callie is doing fine with India - I thought she would. She's even already let Randy rub her tummy, so I think that will be a smooth adjustment! Randy had brought the other dogs, Maui and Tristan, to the dog park where we met Lisa, but the weather decided to dump on us at that exact time, so we ended up going to Westroads and spending a little time with the Lisa before she left. Tristan and Maui seemed to hit it off with Callie and India has such a way with animals, it seems like a match made in heaven.

It was good to see Randy and India again. I haven't seen them since I worked at Northwest Precinct, and heaven only knows how long ago that was! I worked in Internal Affairs 14 years ago and I was at NW after that... I think... I don't really remember. I need to take out the old crew photo that Paula Timperley took of her crew and gave to me that year. I really do treasure that - and I think the year is on it. I know it was before Infantino threw me unceremoniously out of NW to go work as Don Thorson's secretery in CIB, that seems like forever ago! I loved working at Northwest, and it was so close to home, right by Hobby Lobby on 90th & Grant. Unfortunately, I wasn't doing favors for Capt. Infantino like his secretary was, so when he got transferred to NW when Capt. Crawford retired, he sent me packing. Not at all usual, usually the secretary stays in the bureau she works for and the command transfers around. Guess old Tony ha a soft spot in his heart for his secretary, Judy. Anyway... Got a little sidetracked... It was good to see them. Maybe sometime we can all get together and watch a movie or something. I get the feeling that Randy is a lot like Steve - just likes to chill and be quiet, and India is a lot like me - very outgoing and likes to talk and have fun. We could maybe have someone to do things with besides Bob and Carol. Ha ha ha.. India have a lot in common, besides loving our animals and having fibro. I don't think we'll ever run out of things to talk about. LOL!

Well, if I'm driving to Des Moines tomorrow I better get some sleep. Before I forget though, we had a pretty good storm in Omaha last night. Jim Cantore from The Weather Channel was here - scary, he seems to go where the weather is the worst! They clocked some winds at 75 mph and the tornado sirens went off for the straight line winds, for only the second time in history. We were really blessed though - we had NO wind at our house. None. With all these tall trees I'm always afraid in wind storms, but the Lord was looking out for us last night. We didn't even lose power - it only flickered and came right back on. Yay! Unfortunately we did have a lot of rain and the Missouri River rose another 3 inches. The flooding is bad, getting worse, and they're upping the amount they release from Gavin's Point again soon. I have a FB friend who lives in Plattsmouth who said they've heard rumors of being stranded because they might have to close the roads to the town because of the flooding. Tomorrow I have to take I-80 through town and through Council Bluffs to get to I80 going to Des Moines. Usually I'd take the Mormon Bridge and I680 to I29 and then over to I80, but that was is closed. I have a lot to be thankful for today. My only worry is that the water treatment facility will have to close or be shut down. It's already sandbagged and the river is rising past that point. I still think we should stock up on drinking water, but Steve seems to think that won't be a problem. Also, the nuclear power plant in Ft. Calhoun is surrounded by water. I've heard that workers have been told not to wade through the water or have any contact with it. That's scary, if true. Of course we haven't heard a word from the media about it. Well, I'll be grateful for what we have and pray for strength to take care of the rest.