Bonding

Lately I haven’t had any time to devote to my blog or doing art because I’ve been going back and forth to the hospital to see my dad, and some nights I’ve been staying overnight with my mum. Most days everyone in the family manages to get in for a visit and I think it cheers him up because he’s getting better every day.
Before Dad was moved to a private room, he had a jolly roommate who only had one visitor a day: his wife. She would come in with a take-out coffee, and before she’d even finished drinking it she would leave. I was thinking about her today and wondering if she is the kind of person who has a phobia about hospitals. But it’s kind of hard on her husband, I think. (Then again, maybe he doesn’t mind).
David told me yesterday that he has enjoyed seeing everyone in the family regularly for the last ten days because Dad’s hospital stay has turned into a marathon bonding experience for each one of us. Without actually discussing it, we all seem to agree that Dad is far more than his physical problems and that our reason for visiting him is to celebrate this. Whatever is going on seems to be agreeing with him because he really perks up when you go into see him.