Dad's Sparkle Was Gone

July 12, 2008

Dear Family,

Happy Saturday. How are all of you doing? Wonderful, I hope. Sorry I haven't written as much the last little while. We spent so much time together as a family over the 4^th, and when Julie was here that I kind of had to make it up at home, and I haven't been with mom and dad as much this week. Also, dad was doing so well for a while there wasn't much to tell you about. I'm sorry that it seems to be changing again.

A few days ago dad got a cough. It bothered him so much mom had to give him Robitussin. The next day I thought he looked flushed, and he just didn't seem to have that old spark any more. The cough has gone now, but the sparkle hasn't come back.

It's funny. I've always heard people use the expression, “He's got a sparkle in his eye,” but I didn't really understand it until now. Although I wouldn't really say that dad's eyes used to sparkle, still, I don't know how else to describe the way he has looked the past couple of weeks. There has been light in his eyes, and now it has dimmed again. I suppose most of us have that light; we just don't notice it until it is gone.

Linda says dad told her the other day that he felt like the fog had lifted from his mind. That's a good way to describe the way he has seemed for the last little while. It's sad to see the fog starting to descend again.

When Moe's mother was dying, the hospice nurses told us she would seem to get better, then go down, then get better, then go down, in a cycle, but each time she went up it wouldn't be quite as far. It actually didn't seem to happen that way to Grandma Ashcroft. She just went down quickly and stayed there. I'm afraid maybe we are beginning to see that cycle in dad, darn it all. I was really hoping for a few days that he was going to get back to his old self and stay there. Perhaps I'm wrong, and this is just a dip and then he'll go back up for keeps. I hope so.

Anyway, we love you guys, and want you to know how much your prayers and thoughts mean to all of us, especially to mom. She needs you, now, and she feels so blessed to have such a wonderful family. Thanks.

I love you, too,

Aunt Gale