Coloring

Life with Dad involved many doctor appointments, regular trips to urgent care, and several days in the hospital. I was with him almost all the time. Fortunately, a perceptive friend had given me a beautiful grownup coloring book for my birthday, and this turned out to be the perfect way to while away all that medical downtime with my dad. It took just the tiniest bit of cognition, enough to occupy my mind but not enough to really require anything of me. It was a great conversation piece with all the doctors and nurses. And it engaged me in making something lovely.

Now I’m back to reading books, which I think is a sign that I have more cognition available. (When I tried to read in the hospital I just read the same sentence over and over.) But I really appreciated the coloring when I needed it.