Getting familiar with a long drive....

I was just up north this weekend to visit *the parents*. It was planned a short while ago and baby sister and her hubby were going to be there too. I was excited to visit with everyone and to see the beautiful fall leaves.

Then mom emails on Thursday that a surgery that was in the works for her had finally been set. For Wednesday. Not a problem. Except for her hubby....

Last time mom was in the hospital, he was a basketcase. Actually, that's an understatement. What's beyond basketcase? And you'd think that since this hospital visit is planned ahead, he'd deal with it better than a surprise hospital stay, but nooooo. He's just starting his beyond basketcase-edness ahead of time. But since this hospital stay is planned, much planning and plotting has conspired. And the first part of this plan involves me.

I'm driving back up there after work today so I can basically babysit a 72 year old man.

Let me back up a bit and explain her hubby. First off, he was my father-in-law before he was her hubby. I just did a blog search and I can't find where I've ever explained this. My hubby and I met almost 20 years ago. Both our sets of parents were still alive and married to each other. My parents divorced in 1991. My mother-in-law passed away from ovarian cancer in 1998. She used to do typing for my father-in-law's work on occasion. After his wife was gone, FIL needed some typing done. He knew my mom was a secretary, so he stopped by her work to ask if she would work for him occasionally as a typist. She asked what he needed typed and he handed her a few papers. She typed them up in no time flat and refused to accept payment since it was easy and took no time. He insisted on paying SOMETHING, so he offered to take her out for lunch. They had a nice time and realized they enjoyed each other's company quite a bit. They started dating. Then in August 2000, they eloped to Las Vegas. Family holidays have been so very easy ever since. ;)

Anyhow, fast forward to last winter when mom was hospitalized and FIL was misbehaving terribly. He was trying to sneak into the hospital after visiting hours after being kicked out for not leaving. He is like a toddler - always poking and asking questions and wanting to talk and wanting attention. It's exhausting. This is how he is on a routine day!! And the more stressed he is, the worse he is. The more tired he is, the worse he is. The more pain he has of his own, the worse he is. (He has a chronic back problem.) So him trying to sneak into the hospital after visiting hours so he can barely sleep in an uncomfortable chair and constantly bother mom and not eat and not remember to take his own medications or even take care of himself at all is setting him up for nothing but trouble. He's actually been known to try and CLIMB INTO THE HOSPITAL BED TO SNUGGLE. I am not kidding. (He has no abandonment issues from his childhood, does he?!?!??)

So when I get there, I will be hiding all sets of car keys. He will be instructed to not drive anywhere - I will be his chauffeur. I have a release of medical information so the medical staff can discuss mom's condition with me since FIL was such a poor reporter before. I will be speaking to the nurses to let them know that he has a past history of misbehaving. And the brief time he will be left alone when I leave to come back home but before sister-in-law gets up there, he may try to misbehave. They will have my phone number to reach me. (And I also happen to know the sheriff of that county - it's the dad of a good friend of mine. Heh heh.)

And I already informed FIL that I do NOT have bail money.