Some mornings you wake up and you know, right from the off, that it's not going to be a good day. Today was a case in point: I woke up with a headache, which worsened as the day went on, then progressed into nausea and the shivers, and has just culminated into a violent bout of vomiting. Hopefully now, having got rid of its contents, my stomach will settle and my headache subside.
The other day, I noticed my Dad was still sleeping under a thin summer blanket, and a quick inspection of his cupboards led me to conclude that his winter bedding had either not come with him in the move, or gone AWOL since then...and I very much suspected the former to be true. So before I went to see him today, I went into town and got him a brand new duvet and a couple of covers, and the look on his face when I presented him with my gift told me he had been feeling the cold a bit in recent nights, but old soldier that he is, would rather have continued to suffer in silence than mention it to anyone. He keeps forgetting that now that he's in his 80th year of life, he's not as robust as he used to be when he snatched forty winks in the snow in Korea 50-odd years ago; and that moreover he's entitled to a little luxury every now and again. He was so pleased with his new bedding, kept saying how much he was looking forward to going to sleep tonight, that I was just sorry I hadn't thought of bringing him some before.
The other day, I noticed my Dad was still sleeping under a thin summer blanket, and a quick inspection of his cupboards led me to conclude that his winter bedding had either not come with him in the move, or gone AWOL since then...and I very much suspected the former to be true. So before I went to see him today, I went into town and got him a brand new duvet and a couple of covers, and the look on his face when I presented him with my gift told me he had been feeling the cold a bit in recent nights, but old soldier that he is, would rather have continued to suffer in silence than mention it to anyone. He keeps forgetting that now that he's in his 80th year of life, he's not as robust as he used to be when he snatched forty winks in the snow in Korea 50-odd years ago; and that moreover he's entitled to a little luxury every now and again. He was so pleased with his new bedding, kept saying how much he was looking forward to going to sleep tonight, that I was just sorry I hadn't thought of bringing him some before.
- Current Mood:
pleased
Comments
And that was a good thing you did for your Dad
And as for your dad...awww. I'm so glad you noticed and were able to help him out. Sleeping is always nicer when you don't have to sleep cold.
But wouldn't it be heated anyway?I very clearly remember suffering through freezing nights in my Dutch uncle's attic because the heating turns off at 9pm and didn't come back on until 7.I wasn't aware The Netherlands went to Korea too. We're all a bit stupid in the name of America, aren't we? :P
We're all a bit stupid in the name of America, aren't we? :P
You said it ;-) but I don't think my dad would agree! As far as he was concerned, he took part in a UN mission to stop the spread of communism which to him, having lived through WWII and its aftermath, spelled real danger. Also, he was a young man all gung ho for adventure...he'd been too young to actively take part in the war or the resistance in the earlier conflict, and seized upon the chance to do his bit when the Korean War erupted. He served with an international company that was seconded or attached to the US 2nd Airborne Division from 1950-1953, and must have acquitted himself well as he was awarded the Bronze Star before being repatriated. It's his most prized possession.
*blush* I didn't mean to imply your Dad was stupid - rather, the govt is.
Perish the thought! And you didn't; at least, I never thought you did. As for the govt...well it was a different time then, and a different set of circumstances. It's their slavish endorsement of Bush's War on Terror and their current shilly-shallying over the question of 'if Obama asks, do we extend our stay in Afghanistan?' when they've promised time and time again that we'll pull out 'come what may' in however many months' time it still is that gets my goat right now.
Kathleen
Thanks for sharing this little story about your dad. It was so sweet and so very dad-like.