Greg and I met at 1 pm to spend the afternoon moving dad's things and going through the paperwork with the manager of the nursing home he's moving into. It rained all day, so the move has not come at the best time. We had a schedule of these places we needed to go:

  • Greg's - to meet up and get in the one car
  • Dad's old room - to load up
  • The bank - to do face-to-face power of attorney paperwork with them
  • The house - to drop off most of the furniture
  • The nursing home - to do the paperwork and drop off some of dad's things
  • Dad's old room again - to pick up the rest of his stuff
  • The nursing home again - to drop off the last few belongings
  • Greg's place - to pick up my car again
  • The house - to drop off the last of the furniture
I'd missed breakfast and lunch, and this took all afternoon. I was tired and hungry, stressed and depressed. Dad's room is very good, and the place he is moving into really is first class. However, it is still a nursing home. He will wonder where the hell he is and not want to stay. It is big, too, so he will surely get lost a few times. One good aspect, apart from the furnishings and quality of everything there, is that from Monday the manager of dad's old place is moving here to resume a nursing role. She will remember dad as he was: how he could talk, walk, and feed himself. She may be a big help.

There was a minor financial hiccough today, too. We got a bill for $350,000. We knew we were going to have to pay a bond soon. We thought it was to be $250,000. The difference is not negligible. At first we thought it was a mistake, but all the paperwork that arrived today supports it. How did we get the idea it was only $250,000? We didn't think this was an issue, since dad is no longer moving as a permanent resident into his old place, and the new place, the nursing home, has a bond of $250,000. So, we thought we may have escaped that. We mentioned this to the manager of the nursing home and she said, regretfully, that once we had a contract with the village, it remained in effect regardless of whether the resident moved within its various centres. This was turning into really bad news, now. But, then we realised we had not yet had time to sign the contracts for dad. So, once again, perhaps there is a loop hole for us to wriggle through. We will talk to the finance manager early next week and see whether this can be resolved to our satisfaction. If not, none of our financial planning now has any relevance whatsoever. Mum and dad's assets will be fairly rapidly eroded, rather than gently mounting.

And what about dad? Doesn't he figure in today's proceedings?

Yes, well, the ambulance never came. He is still in the hospital. I guess they were too busy to get rid of him.