connecting with family

today was a beautiful day outside so I took russ outside for lunch. i had hoped to be able to lounge in our pool for a while while russ ate but that was not to be. whether it had to do with him usually eating inside or just one of those days he was unable to process what to do so i had to feed him. after a while he seemed pretty alert so I decided to call both his brother and sister to say hi and see how they were doing. russ was able to say hi and say a few words to both. i put the phone on speaker so he could hear the conversation. periodically russ would smile and his eyes would light up as if something was said that rang a bell for him deep inside. it is something i need to remember to do more frequently, make contact with his family, his past. i was also very amazed and proud of myself. after both calls i checked my cell phone to see how long we had talked. 19min20sec to his brother/sister-in-law and 19min28sec to his sister and nephew. how’s that for not showing any favoritism!