Another visit to parents in law

I visited parents in law with my wife for the past couple of days. It has been warm and mostly fine throughout the trip. On the day of arrival there, we have had a nice dinner at a restaurant in the hotel we stayed.  Listening to jazz in the background, we have enjoyed nice full course dinner. Our daughter who had received my e mail with this kind of photo replied to me she wished she had been with us there.

At the sunrise there today, I have walked along the pier. When I first came there, there was no bridge between Shikoku Island and the main island. Those days, we had to take a ferry from here to a city near by across the Seto Inland Sea when going to the main island. I remembered, some 40 years ago, when I visited my wife's parents to ask for permit of marriage with her, I could not get a definite affirmative answer from her father. My wife used to say good by to me, being sad without his father's permit of marriage, at the pier the ferry departed to the main land. She looked quite pleasant to me. Later, it turned out that he and mother in law had decided to say yes to me at that time. Anyway, I had to come home with the answer in pending.  It was this place at that time. 

Father in law was doing pretty fine at his age 91 years. He still has some health issues but is able to go for walk for 30 minutes around the nursing home by himself. He plays game with his friends at the home. My wife's elder sister comes to see him once or twice a week bringing items necessary for him and mother in law. The staff seems very kind and helpful to him. His hearing was lost to some extent. It seemed the biggest problem for him. So far, at his age, his circumference seemed to be the best that he could desire. 

Mother in law has been suffering from Levy Body type dementia for years. She is bed ridden and is not able to communicate with the others in most occasions. In our previous visits when she was awake and saw my wife, she opened her eyes widely and looked to want say something to her. She was, however, in deep sleep this time and was not responsive to my wife's words. She is eating meal by herself and seems to be in good condition as well for her age and with the phase of the degenerative disease.　

Father in law, I and my wife were taken to a restaurant nearby by wife's sister. We have had nice lunch there. I could not thank enough to sister in law for her efforts for parents in law. 

It has been already 3 years since they were admitted into this facility. I was sorry I could not do more for them. But I was still pleased to know they were getting along in the most desirable way they could expect. On the way back home, I have read a news on a news paper telling that about 180 of aged people were killed or committed suicide due to care issues in our country for the past 4 years. It would be a problem for us how to spend our old age as well in the future. Wishing parents in law to continue this peaceful life, we left the facility.