Make 'em laugh

To jump right to the headline/punchline, my last bite of Taco Bueno street taco for dinner was full of pungent onions. I didn't want to spend the rest of the evening with a funky mouth, so I put a dollop of Dad's toothpaste on my finger and rubbed it around inside my mouth. He looked at me bemused - as if thinking, "Who raised this kid?" - with a legit grin on his face. Not even my best bit, but it clearly tickled his funny bone.

Dad's second full day of rehab went well. He actually got a bonus, second hour of PT, and got to give some treats to Finn the Trainee Therapy Dog. He had more energy this afternoon after therapy than he did yesterday.

I'd started reading The Hobbit aloud over the weekend. We had some time this evening, so I read another chapter. When I finished, Dad reached for the book and picked up reading, aloud, where I'd left off. He read more than a chapter that way. I'd seen him ace a couple of post-stroke reading evaluations, but those were only a handful of short sentences. Otherwise, he hadn't shown much interest in reading. He would kind of stare at the newspaper, but there was no sign that anything was registering or catching his interest. That changed when Bilbo, Gandalf, and the dwarves were crossing the Misty Mountains.

Last news for today: Dad has a target discharge date of March 31, corresponding to a three-week stay in rehab.