It looks like dad is moving to Moncton, take II

Yes folks, you read the headline. Sound familiar? Ya, I know. Several years ago my dad said he wanted to move here and it never happened and really, I never got a good answer. However, it looks like this time, it may be more possible than ever. Here’s the scoop.

A few months ago, he calls me and says that he’s had a mild heart attack and that his heart is not doing so good. Not sure exactly what happened, but regardless, he and his girlfriend decide that they have finally had enough of Edmonton and they are going to try and find a way to move to Moncton where he can be close to his son and new grandson, and hopefully live out the rest of his days in a less hectic, and more sane, environment.

When he told me this, the first thing that went through my mind was that it wasn’t going to happen. He said this before and it never did materialize so why get excited or worked up about it when it is likely not gonna happen. But still, I was wishful.

Originally, he was going to fly and be here on the 1st of July. Obviously that didn’t happen as he’s not here. But the doctor told him that because of his heart, it probably was not a good idea to fly. So between him and his gf, the got a car and planned on driving out here. His doctor said that “I know I can’t stop you from going, but I’d like you to stay another month so we can see how your new medication is working”. The doctor wants to make sure he’s not having any weird or bad reactions to the new heart medication. Dad did say that months ago he had some dizzy spells, and other weird things happen.

This time around, I have been very adament about calling him on a regular basis to get some updates and he has been very good. In fact, he called me the day after one of his doctor’s appointments just to let me know what was going on.

A month or so ago, I called him again and he was in good spirits. He said he was feeling good and the medication was not making him sick and that all was good. He had told me previously that he and Christina (his gf) had given their notice at the apartment (they had separate apartments) which told me that he had to be pretty serious about it. I mean, if you’re not serious about moving, you don’t tell your landlord that you’re moving out right?

Mid-June I called him again and he said that it was now looking like August 1st might be the date but he would know more later. His gf had moved most of her stuff into dad’s place and they were starting to sort through what they would take and what would go. He said that he was supposed to hear from the doctor’s office to find out when he’d have his next appointment. He would keep me posted.

Last night I called him again and I got neither good or bad news. He said that it now looked like September 1st would be the day they’d be here. Basically, his doctor’s appointment is July 22nd and that’s when he’ll know what the doctor thinks he should do. He said that although they had given notice, his landlord said they could basically stay til whenever they needed to leave but just let him know. So, even though they could get up and leave, dad wanted to give notice like he should.

He said they have sold a LOT of stuff and have vastly reduced what they have. Apparently social assistance (my dad is retired and on disability/pension) will move them so they needed all their stuff together so social assistance can figure out the best way to move all of their stuff.

The plan now is that as soon as he has his doctor’s appointment, he’ll let me know the outcome and assuming all is good, they will be leaving to come to Moncton as soon as they can.

I’m trying not to get too excited as I do not want to be disappointed again but there are a lot of things about this that look more hopefully. For one, they’re selling a lot of their stuff and have actually given notice that they intend to leave. Dad seems to have a lot of things planned and it sounds a lot more serious this time than it was before. I do not want to get my hopes up too much but it’s hard not to when it really does look like it’s going to happen.

Ultimately, I don’t think my dad’s health is as good as he will admit, and I think he wants to come out here to die. I think he knows that he’d probably be better off living his last days in the Maritimes where things are so much more layed back, than stuck in the middle of a huge city where he doesn’t do very much. At least here he’d be near his grandson and would be able to spend some time with him.

*shrug*

It’s hard to say. But regardless, when July 22nd comes along, I’ll be waiting for that phone to ring and hopefully I’ll hear good news. Hopefully.