395. Family Pride

Background

Marie and her sisters Chrissie and Diane have for some time now been warned by their mother that their father is getting very frail and can’t move around much anymore, and the day comes when he needs help to perform most everyday tasks, and he is easily confused.   A part-time nurse comes in daily to help look after him, but as Christmas approaches and the sisters plan a family get-together, Marie assures her mother that for the few days while they’re there, they will help look after Dad and won’t need the services of the nurse.  It should be easy between the three of them.  They’re a cheerful family and they approach the prospect of caring for their dependent father with goodwill and humour.

However they agree afterwards that the one thing they hadn’t foreseen was their own reaction to seeing their father naked – in their 42, 38 and 35 years of life respectively they had never seen either of their parents in the altogether.  On their very first day – Christmas Eve – they had to wash him down and when they had stripped him of his clothes Diane’s gasp alerted them to a brand new piece of information about their father – that he was startlingly well endowed. 

Diane (35):  Oh my God.  Marie.

Marie (42):  What? Oh my God.

Chrissie (38):  Bloody hell...

Marie:  Come on, we must get on with this or he’ll catch cold.  Chrissie, you go that side.  Diane, you help me here.

Diane:  Er... what?  Oh yes.  Oh God I can’t.

Marie:  Listen to me, both of you.  Just keep looking at his knees.  Just look at his knees.  Just look at his knees.

A difficult moment overcome.  They didn’t know whether to feel embarrassed, secretly proud of their father or – indeed – their mother.

(With thanks to a good friend who would prefer to remain anonymous!)

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