Last Sunday my sister, brother-in-law and I ate an early Thanksgiving dinner with our dad at the home where he lives. The home does this for all the holidays. They will do it a week or two before the actual holiday so that it’s easier on family (especially those who live out of town) to come and celebrate.

All of the food is homemade and the staff waits on you like you were in a fine restaurant. Kitty, the director of the home, is a really nice woman who is all about taking care of the residents. She involves the residents in craft projects like making Thanksgiving day cards that they mail out to family inviting them to dinner.

When I visited my father the other day I decided to try the video feature of my little digital camera. Dad was in a very good mood. Being in this particular home, where he gets a lot of personal attention, has really helped him a lot. He’s put on weight and his mood has stabilized.

5 a.m. Sunday and I couldn’t sleep any longer. It was my son Ben’s big day for taking his state barber’s licensing test in Kansas City.

The last exam had been in Wichita three months earlier. Ben had made arrangements through friends still living there for his models to show up but they never did. The state gave him another temporary license which allowed him to practice in a barbershop until the next test. If he didn’t pass this one then he couldn’t cut hair anymore, so the pressure was on.