He bought this picture at Metrotown when he was still living in the other long term care home. A picture of the pier in the city he calls his ‘hometown’, hung above his bed in a place that never quite felt like home. He managed living there well enough for five years, never with a bad word to say about the place despite its modest offerings. Clearly he was always thinking about a move though, and somehow found (where? in the newspaper? The internet is a foreign concept to him…) a place he wanted to move to in the aforementioned hometown, and got himself on a waitlist.
It was mid-February, almost a year into the pandemic, when he was offered a spot in the new place. Vacancies were sadly, suddenly, at a peak. We packed the picture of the pier into my car on a snowy Saturday, and drove slowly, steadily to his new/old home.
Soon after that he was fully vaccinated, and a month following I had my first shot. At the beginning of this month the restrictions changed to reflect this new reality…long term care residents can have visits in their rooms, can be taken out, can even be hugged…they have certainly earned it.
Prior to this month we had visits that felt akin to those in a prison. Half an hour per resident per week, masks on, plexiglass between us, no touching, certainly no hugging, and even these limited encounters were cancelled altogether during the two outbreaks at his facility. The outbreaks when I was receiving daily email updates about the numbers of people dying there. In one of those outbreaks he tested positive, somehow defying the odds (as he does) and never acquiring symptoms.
Now here we are on what is starting to feel like the other side…at least for him. The third wave rages on and yet we have a pocket of what almost feels like normalcy for those who have seen some of the worst of this pandemic. Seen nothing but their four walls for stretches of time that most of us can’t even fathom.
We went to the pier today. And when I left him in his room with the goods we had acquired through stops to various places along the way, I said goodbye with a hug. “We’re allowed to hug now” I said. What a strange thing it was to say.
What a very special day for both of you. I’m so happy for your Dad that he is finally safely settled back in his hometown, where he knew all along he was meant to be.