We had a nice, white Christmas here in northern Illinois, and now comes a warm front which has melted the 8 inches of snow in just 24 hours. Flash floods and fog for the next week or so. Hopefully they can keep the ice cold at Wrigley Field, where the Blackhawks will take on the much hated Redwings on New Years Day.
I drove up to see my Dad and drop off his Christmas present and go over his new budget. He finally got his Section 8 approval, which should solve the month to month finances, and help set up a nest-egg for the inevitable doctor bills and car repairs. Despite my day to day management of his finances, I've only seen him three times in 2008, last January, in October for his mother's funeral, and today.
Yes, I know I should visit more often. And yes, he should visit us more, too.
I went over the budget with him, encouraging him to try to follow it while trying to live comfortably as well. If we can build up the reserve fund in the next year, then he can then have more to spend and enjoy. I don't want him to live monastically, just responsibly. As always, we'll see how that goes.
My father doesn't seem to want a lot of interaction with me or my family, and I've sort of grown tired trying to push the relationship. I'm 46, I have a nice family. We care about my dad, but his interest doesn't extend much past the basic pleasentries. Perhaps he feels that I caused all the turmoil in his life by yanking him from squalor in Indiana 2 years ago and compelling him to face the music about his health and debts. It had to be done, and I guess I was the best suited to do so. No one else in my family, God love them, is as much of a hard-ass as me, a skill I learned from the old man himself. Go figure.
Sure makes me miss my mother.
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