On Wednesday I drove up to Bendigo to visit my Pa (my Dad's father) who is in a Hospice right now. At 6pm I met up with my Aunt who travelled by bus, train and then another train, to Bendigo from Mt Gambier in South Australia. It was weonderful to have her there, and she is still staying in Pa's house and visiting Pa daily.
Pa sleeps off and on as we visit him. He has made so many friends from all his social groups he is in that he is never shy of visitors for long. The nurses have placed a 10 minute visiting sign on his door. That is placed right under "The Max Hartmann Wing" sign that the nurses made. That was produced by one of the nurses because Pa said he could not see his name written anywhere. It suits him to a T.
I am pleased to see that he is not in any pain, and that whilst his memory is in tact he is happy to speak about stories from his life. He was brought up by his father from a young age because his Mum left them and continued to run a Dressmaking Shop in Fitzroy. Later in her life, his mother reunited with my Pa's Dad as well as her three sons, until she passed away from pancreatic cancer (which is what my Pa has now).
Our family tree is coming alive, blossoming, and it continues to do so even though part of us is seemingly wilting away. Pa said that " After I am gone I want to continue to shine on through the family tree", and so Pa will. In more ways than just one.
I came home Saturday in time for Tomas' sleep over party. He turned 14 years old today. We had a BBQ lunch today and his mates went home by 4pm. We are all happy and tired and ready for sleep. I cannot wait for school vacation time.. yayy this Friday! Halls Gap here we come.