Dad has really let himself, and his house, go since Mom ran off with a man half her age.
That was a few years ago.
I don’t think he has shopped for clothes since then, since everything he wears is worn and outdated. My uncle Pete takes my father to the barber once a month. It’s their brother bonding time. I guess I should get Uncle Pete to take Dad clothes shopping. Our forte is working on getting Dad to work on the house. He hasn’t been changing the a/c filter. We have been doing that. Fortunately, my husband is an HVAC technician and can perform my father’s necessary tune-ups and make most repairs that may come along. We have been trying to convince my father to paint the trim, to no avail. Now, we need to convince him to buy a new HVAC unit because his is getting pretty old and is not as efficient as it could be. The other day, I noticed that it was eighty-two degrees in the house, even though the thermostat was set at seventy-four degrees. It’s not that my father is cheap. He’s retired comfortably. He just has no ambition or motivation to care about anything. The only reason the lawn gets mowed is because the county will fine him if it’s not. Maybe what my father needs is to meet someone new, or a puppy. Maybe he needs some antidepressants. I don’t know. What I do know is that I’ve got to find a way to get him to paint the trim and replace the HVAC unit before it is too late. Because, chances are that it will die when it works the hardest, in the middle of summer. That is the worst time to go without a/c.