Sometimes it all falls into place

It's very easy for me to sit back and gripe about things that don't go my way so  I thought I'd relate a series of events that slipped smoothly into place.

My father-in-law is 89 years old and has dementia.  He is a lovely man who retains his quirky sense of humour even as more and more of his cognitive abilities fail him. He's been living in a retirement home that provides activities set up for people who are independent.  The staff  have provided support above and beyond what we could reasonably expect from them and now Bill needs a place where he can receive higher levels of care.

As is the way with these things, his name was added to a list.  We selected a first and a second choice residences and then we waited. We got a phone call a few weeks later from a place that wasn't on our list.  When we went to see it none of us really took to the place.  It was far from where we live and the main recreation and dining area was below grade. It did have large windows with window wells that let in quite a bit of light. The bedroom was small.  There wasn't much of a view and the numbering system in the elevator disturbed Bill; nevertheless we thought we'd better take it and once we were "in the system" a move to one of the places on our list would be easier.

Since Richard was working I arranged to go with Bill for the intake interview and to help him sign the necessary papers. For no apparent reason I was apprehensive about the visit. Bill is very pleasant company and I had most of the information I needed to help him with the paperwork.

The day before the appointment to sign the papers we got a call from our second-choice spot saying a room was available. This is a brand new residence and Bill would be among the first to move in.  Richard cancelled the meeting to sign papers and we booked a tour of the new facility. Tours are on set days at set times.  We hastily cancelled and rescheduled some appointments which still left us with a time crunch. Richard was working the morning and had a dental appointment at noon but he had the afternoon free.  We had a plan in place should Richard's dental appointment run long. Part way through the morning Richard got a call asking him to please reschedule his dental appointment. Perfect!

We were impressed with the place right away.  It has lots of windows; the numbering in the elevator made sense and Bill had the chance to actually choose a room. As we walked into the building Bill mused that he would like a room on the top floor. On the fourth floor there were two rooms with views of the mountains. In one room the bed would face away from the mountains and in the other it would face toward them.  Bill chose the one where he could lie in bed and see the mountains. The appointment to sign the papers was set for a day Richard wasn't working.

Even though the new place is a long way from our home, we can take a route on the freeway that has no stop lights which is less stressful than a more direct stop-and-go route.  The move went smoothly and we even found a good home for the window AC unit that Bill no longer needs. Change is never easy especially in the confusion caused by dementia but Bill has already made friends and is adapting to a new routine. Occasionally things just fall into place and that, in my books, is cause for celebration.