One thing that’s become painfully clear this last year is that my dad has simply been _killing time_. Not that he is waiting to die, but he’s simply waiting for _something_ to happen. Anything really, but definitely something more interesting than what is happening today. No drive to make something new happen any particular day, just a resigned determination to wait things out until they get better. But they won’t get better. But he waits nonetheless. I think in his mind, he’s just waiting for the pandemic to be over—forgetting once again that things have irreparably changed for him. He seems to understand that every now and then, though it hasn’t led to any new changes. Most of the time, he’s just killing time… For much of the last year, I’ve chalked this up to his health and dwindling mental acuity. He just keeps forgetting the situation he’s in, I say. Other times, I think it’s actually a deeper issue. He doesn’t actually have any interests, at least ones that he can do right now. Sure, he loved golf and shooting the breeze at his favorite bar. And occasional ASU football games, or a day trip. But without these things at this disposal, there’s really…well, there’s just nothing to do. He’s old enough that new hobbies are either not interesting to him, or he’s just not interested in learning them. Me: “How’s it going today, Dad?” Him: “Oh, fine, just another day. There’s not much going on around here. It’s kinda dead.” It seems like such a waste to live out your last months (years?) just plain old bored, simply for a lack of imagination. What else do you want to do in life? Should you call and say hi to some friends? Want to read a book? Or maybe intentionally rewatch your favorite tv series? Or perhaps do some puzzles, or write, or maybe even just peruse your photo albums and reminisce? Nope, none of that. Simply staring at the tv, killing time, often not even changing the channel even though you’re not enjoying yourself. Things would be a lot better if he had [[Create strategic hobbies|created strategic hobbies]], ones that he could continue to enjoy without the underlying context.