When dad came to stay with me last March it was like watching a rerun of the odd couple. Of course, I love my father, but we’re as different as night and day. He likes to listen to the radio, I like the television. He gets his news from a newspaper, I go online. He gets up early on Sunday and I like to sleep in. In spite of our differences, when mom passed away last winter, I had to step in. I knew dad couldn’t live in that old house alone.  And since I don’t have the money to put him in a home, he had to stay with me. The first thing I had to do was put in a stairlift.

 Dad has arthritis in his knees and hip and lately it’s been getting a lot worse. Sometimes he has trouble just making it up the stairs. That’s why I decided to buy him a stairlift. Even though a stairlift looks kind of funny in the home of a thirty-eight year-old bachelor, I knew that dad needed one. So I went to the store to see what I could find.

 The only thing I knew about stairlifts was what I remembered from old commercials with happy grandmothers taking a trip up the stairs. But I was surprised to see just how many models they had. The two basic types of stairlifts are available in either electric or battery-powered models. I decided on a battery-powered model so I wouldn’t have to worry about tripping over the cord. I also got dad a seat that swivels in every direction and even folds up when not in use.

 The next day a technician from the store came to the house to install dad’s new stairlift. It took him just under two hours and then dad gave it a spin. He immediately commented on how smooth and easy it was to use. Now dad uses his stairlift any time his arthritis acts up, and I don’t have to worry about dad slipping and getting hurt on the stairs.