On the pleasant side, our youngest grandson, Trey Young, graduated, and a party was held at our house. He and his older brother, Trevor, are in a band, and they performed in our backyard. My small outbuilding –known as “the hideout” – was a refuge for older adults to enjoy quiet conversations and air conditioning. Everyone enjoyed the food and had a lot of fun.
On the not-so-pleasant side, Joe Saunders, the brother of my wife, Lyn, was involved in a terrible crash while test riding a motorcycle. He was wearing a helmet, which probably saved his life. Joe was transported to Methodist Hospital from New Whiteland via Lifeline, and he is improving every day. Man, did he lose a lot of skin, But still, he was lucky.
Lyn and I also had several other incidents that wiggled their way into that busy weekend. It seemed like that we just waved and smiled at each other for a few days while passing each other on the road, driveway or a room in the house.
All of those activities drove our therapy dog, Stuart, a bit crazy. He enjoys his daily routine and doesn’t care for any interruptions in his schedule. He seemed a bit bumfuzzled while preparations were being made in the days leading up to the graduation party.
He quickly went from puzzlement to elation when the festivities started and food was set up outside. Under normal conditions, Stuart doesn’t partake of people food. That is part of his training. He does get real excited, though, when his friends at the nursing homes we visit have dog treats for him.
He had full understanding that with lots of people eating at the party, he would be able to con some of them out of a bite from time to time. Once he figured out what was going on, he was happy. We noticed that when the band was playing, he would scamper to the hideout and beg to enter. We figured out that he wasn’t a big fan of drums.
A few days later I called Methodist to inquire what would be involved to bring Stuart to visit his “Uncle” Joe. I found that the rules that apply to our nursing home visits would pertain at the hospital. I picked an afternoon that Stuart and I didn’t have any other commitments. I could tell from his alertness during the ride that he knew something was up, and I started thinking about any new experiences that he might encounter.
The only thing that I could come up with was riding in an elevator. We arrived at the parking garage and had to take the elevator down to the main level. The back wall of the elevator was glass, and we looked outside while descending. I wish I could have videotaped Stuart’s look of shock.
We rode another elevator up to the fifth floor and had a nice visit with Stuart’s Uncle Joe and “Aunt” Jeannie after meeting half the floor’s staff.
The elevator rides that took us back to our car didn’t bother him nearly as much. He slept all the way home.
I’m thinking that Stuart was able to scratch riding an elevator off of his “bucket list.”