This Christmas break and New Years´ Eve I stayed home. Haven´t done this in 20 years or something. I made the decision to stay home, do some PhD studies and take time to rest.
The plan worked perfectly because I got chicken pox (I had no idea you can get it AGAIN) and the doc described rest.
Since Christmas my dad stayed with me, plus the cat and dog, for 11 days. That´s also a VERY long time ago I spent so many days with my dad around.
Before he arrived, I had asked him what he would like to eat. I am so not a kitchen person, meaning I strongly dislike everything about the kitchen but love food. The menus he messaged me though were none I could take out, so it meant going shopping with a proper list and getting him some of his favourite winter dishes like sauerkraut, cale, sausages, potatoes (a lot of them).
Having my dad around was lovely. We spent time together during the meals and watched films in the evenings. Sometimes we discussed theological issues and maybe also argued about it. He is very knowledgeable and him having been a school teacher for religion and his love for the Word of God come through very clearly.
And he surely updated me on politics. Whoever said that 78-year old men are not up to date will be wrong about my dad.
Loving my dad also meant going into the kitchen and making breakfast and cooking dinner (lunch consisted of mandarins and biscuits) which I otherwise don´t do and have not done any cooking in a long time.
It meant frying chicken and getting the fat all over the oven or boiling eggs without water (who said you needed water?). It made me google on how to clean a burned pot… Before my twin-sister and her family returned I had a few days to get it all in order again. But wow, I made it. My dad survived and he even might have gained a little weight. He was still talking to me when I took him home, so this is great.
Actually, he has expressed his gratitude daily. It was an unexpected Christmas break but one I will keep in my heart a little longer. Grateful for such a dad and for such a legacy.
Good news, the marks of chicken pox are vanishing slowly.