After my dad moved from his home in the country into a long-term-care home in the city last year, our family wasn’t able to visit him as often. One day, I decided to take my daughters to see him and surprise him with his favourite desert, blueberry pie, that my mother had taught me how to make long ago.
My daughters were thrilled to be visiting Grandpa. My youngest, Emily, decided to wear grandpa’s medallion. My eldest, Jess, put on her grandpa’s favourite baseball cap. After a few hours on the road, we finally reached Toronto and dad’s new home. We stepped off the elevator and walked towards his room. We knew dad was in for a total surprise and we were all excited as well. We stood in front of his door and knocked. We waited to hear him shuffling to the door and we opened it up. There stood my dad in his white dress shirt, black cotton pants and brown shoes.
“Surprise!” we yelled with great big smiles.
He was excited and thrilled to see us (and of course, mom’s blueberry pie was a big hit). We shared the whole day with my dad as he showed off his cozy room with the lovely patio just outside. It was great to see him in such good spirits, and I could tell he really enjoyed our visit.