I was playing golf with my Dad on Tuesday. He was walking down some wooden steps to a tee box that were soaked from a recent rain. I heard a crash, and then he let out a yell that was hands down the scariest thing I had ever hear. I have never heard an adult yell like that, let alone my father. He broke his broke both bones in his leg about 4 inches above the ankle. My boss was playing in the group behind us and came up hooting and hollering ready to high 5 people. He thought my Dad got a hole in one because of the scream he let out. Focus: When has someone mistakenly started a celebration, when it wasn't the time to. Focus 2: Things to do for a 63 year old man to do that can't walk for 2 months. He is retired, and now is the prime season for gardening, golfing, home remodeling and fishing. All of which are things he can't do. I'm worried for his sanity, and to a lesser extent my Mom's. I am going to be at their house as much as possible over the next two months to help out. Maybe I will get him a Nintendo 3DS or something. Focus 3: Anyone else have problems seeing their parents as fallible? I can't imagine how much whiskey it is going to take for me to get that scream out of my head. This is the first time I've seen one of my parents knocked down with a serious injury. My Dad just became a grandfather last month when my brother had his kid. I guess it makes sense he is acting like one.
I did at my own wedding rehearsal dinner. My dad was giving a toast and for some retarded reason I started clapping the beat of Footloose. Everyone just kind of looked at me, my dad was a little pissed and I felt like an asshole and confused. I still dont know why I did that. For your dad - if he doesn't have one, maybe get him a tablet or something? If hes a reader, he might like a Kindle or even just an iPad and a subscription to Netflix. I remember the first time (but really the only time I think) I saw my mom drunk. I was probably 11 years old and we were at a family reunion in PA. My mom had quite a lot to drink and felt flat on her ass and just sat there laughing her ass off while everyone just stared. For someone who had barely seen my parents drink before that (or really since then), it was an unnerving sight. I brought it up once a few years ago and she was mortified.
Focus 1: This weekend my middle sister graduated from college, as a dance major. Her senior class of 9 in this special seminar they took had a ceremony where they all gave speeches talking about their path to that point, future plans, etc... In the middle, the only male in the class got up and gave an incredibly moving speech about how dance had come to give him body confidence and body image issues, depression, and how he can't imagine progressing with something he had dedicated his life to for close to a decade. Well towards the beginning, he moved to the meat by saying something along the lines of "I came to difficult, and still hard to comprehend, fact that I no longer loved, or even liked dancing." And 2-3 different parents started laughing thinking it was some dry joke. It was horrifically awkward and also blatantly obvious that there was no joke supposed to be buried in it. Focus 3: Ive mentioned that I now work for and, in most ways, with my Dad. Its shown me sides of him like his doubt and hesitation, his irrational anger, and others that are just hard to take. Even though I'm 30, I had a great childhood and my Dad has been incredible, in spite of his faults. So you have this veil of infallibility over everything. Not that he's any less of a person or businessman, I'm just seeing sides I never have before. On the other hand, this has also lead to him leaning on me and relying on me for a lot, which is empowering and gratifying.
Focus: I love it when when you see someone at a sporting event get mistaken on who scored/blocked what and the inevitable scene where they realize they screwed up and sit down slowly while everyone around them just glares in silence. Priceless moments. Focus 2: Not sure what kind of fishing he's into, but tying flies and bucktail jigs is fun and doesn't require the use of legs. He could use this time to learn something new and/or fill his tackle boxes for when he can get back to the water. Focus 3: I had to help my dad out with physical work around my parents house for the first time last year after he fell down a steep hillside while planting some trees and nearly got a impaled through the chest by a sharply cut stump on the way down. My dad's side of the family has a history of being unbelievably stubborn despite having injuries that would keep reasonable people resting, so it shook be a bit when he called to ask if I could drive down and finish the job he started. After he seemed just invincible as I grew up it was a scary snap back into reality that it just isn't so.
That's got nothing to do with the game and everything to do with her "oh a song I can dance and look hot to" narcism. It wasn't until the end that she even thought something different.
After we got married my wife and I started walking back down the aisle before we were supposed to apparently. Made it a few feet before we realized we had to wait for music or something, I forget, had to turn around and come back. We were just ready to get drinking.
Focus 2: Poker? It's a sit down activity that can consume hours while being intellectually stimulating.
3x focus: My dad is an intensely talented and successful man. Professionally he has achieved many great things. He's also very athletically driven. He has an A type personality, everything is done to its best and done to win. His relationship with my mom and how my brother and I were raised in our teenage years leave a lot to be desired and is hard to think about. When my mom was really going downhill my dad was an enabler and couldn't confront the fact he was making things worse and should've divorced her a long time ago. Its hard to see him as fallible because he has done so much and we have a great relationship and he is the patriarch of my family. Seeing him as having flaws and human failings is challenging.