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The rabbit in the room
By juliezavala in My Turn
November 15, 2010

Image Elwood P. Dowd (from the movie, "Harvey"): "Well, I've wrestled with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it."

Dad's had his shower and he's asleep now. He seemed extra confused this evening. He kept saying "the others" would be home soon. Who "the others" are, I don't know, but he wouldn't take his shower because he wanted to wait up for them. He was a little irritated that they were taking so long to get to our house and, he confided, it was inconsiderate of them to make us wait. I couldn't convince him otherwise so I gave up.

I decided to distract him with a movie. We have Netflix so I started looking for something I thought he might enjoy. Pretty soon I came across "Harvey". Daddy loves Jimmy Stewart and he remembered this one (and it's one of my favorites). I popped some popcorn while the movie started and opened a can of diet Dr.Pepper for my Dad. We settled down and watched as Jimmy Stewart escorted his big, invisible rabbit friend around, much to the dismay of his family. Pretty soon Dad and I were laughing at the crazy plot.

By the time my husband Robert came home Dad was starting to get sleepy. I helped him out of his chair and promised him we would finish the movie tomorrow. He didn't argue. After his shower I tucked him into bed. He looked so drowsy and comfortable. I kissed his forehead and told him goodnight.

As I was straightening up the kitchen I started thinking about Harvey and "the others" that Dad was worried about earlier. Like Jimmy Stewart's character, Dad has a lot of imaginary situations going on in that head of his. He gets so upset and confused sometimes. But at least I know that Jimmy Stewart and his Pooka pal can lighten the mood. I'm going to start looking for more Jimmy Stewart movies to watch with my Dad. It'll lighten both our moods.