My father asked me to purchase a wind up alarm clock because he dropped his and it broke. I said ok. I found the old fashioned type, wind up, with 2 bells on the top. I give it to him, he says well these bells are going to scare me to death!! I said I thought you wanted the wind up old fashioned type? He said no! The other was electronic and had a buzzer. Ok, I guess I will take the blame as usual 🤦🏻♀️...can’t wait till his dementia progresses and he gets even more aggressive
Another time I took him to buy a new bed. 3 months later he is calling me telling me he is allergic to it and I need to come over right away to prove he is not crazy. I was at work and I am also pretty good at boundaries so I told him no. I would be there on my normal visit day. By then he forgot all about it.
Bought clothing: too big, too thin, too short, too long, too pricey, too dark, too light, too plain, too patterned 🤯
Try photos? From catalogues, websites or just google. They say a picture is worth a 1000 words don't they..?
Here are 2 pictures of alarm clocks (or whatever is next). Pick one.
You'll still probably be wrong when it arrives! 🤣🤣 But at least you can blame him for choosing it himself.
The son of a lady I saw yesterday, bless his heart, has been out and spent over SIX HUNDRED pounds on a new bed for her.
She's a bag of nerves about it. Not sure when it's due to be delivered.
Her own, proper bed is now much too high for her. And boy! - is it high - on closer inspection I realised she had one deep mattress on top of another deep mattress on a divan base; the princess and the pea has nothing on it.
Her current, temporary bed has a memory foam mattress (I dare say somebody got that specially for her, too). She hates it. She can't get comfy on it. And I sympathise, because I only got a Tempur mattress a few years back and I well remember how very odd it felt to begin with. There's no bounce, so you can't sort of "boing" yourself into position, you have to be standing in exactly the right place before you lie down if you're not very mobile.
Anyway, so poor hapless son rushed out to our nearest bed retailer and has picked a new bedstead and a new mattress.
He has the best and most loving of intentions. Unfortunately, an idiot. What are his chances of having got this right?
I reassured the client that no reputable retailer will refuse to take such a large unseen purchase back if it proves unsuitable, and suggested she tell her sweetie pie son that it would be best to consult an occupational therapist. This lady needs an adjustable bed with the right mobility equipment.
So - sorry to hijack! - with any purchase I'd do a "check your order" step before buying a particular item. Not that that will stop any determined parent blaming you for getting the wrong thing, but at least you'll know you were acting under orders!
Sometimes, it really is a ‘no win’ situation.
No matter how much you want it to be right, it never is and perhaps never will be.
Cherish anything that is going well in other areas in your life, no matter how small they may seem to be at the moment.