family dinner 010808

family dinner 010808
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

this may well be the last dinner at what will be my grandparents' former home if things go as planned, and my grandfather enters a nursing home. from what i understand, it's like a b&b for seniors who can't live on their own and won't be filled with sick elderly people wandering the halls like the place he was in before. it doesn't sound horrible, but i have sympathy for him considering the loneliness that lies ahead for someone suffering from depression. solitude can be a blessing. i hope he will be strong.

because my grandfather has done the minimum to regain mobility, and can't take care of himself, and my grandmother cannot take care of him, the only option seems to be for him to live in a place where he can get the adequate care. it's my grandmother's prerogative, and she has decided she will not move into the home with him. instead, she is going to be moving in with my aunt anh indefinitely, since she doesn't require 24 hr care. my grandfather, who has been depressed, is very bitter about the lack of control and in his eyes respect for his wishes, and it makes me sad. i can understand their separate reasons for their choices and actions, but to see two people who have been together for so long and through so much to end unhappily is heartbreaking.

they are not dying, and could live for many years longer if they have the will and barring any other calamities, but this is a huge change that will reverberate through the family.