I just sent my dad off into the world - driving home to my brother's place. We actually had a good morning (rare - we are a bit like oil and water). My uncle in Hawaii talked to him about his negativity and my dad shared that with me. He's very close to his brother so he took the critique to heart. So the fact that he was trying to be less negative was good. His negativity pushes people away at a time when he really needs companionship.
I was also able to help him with his phone. He's had it for a couple of months and was quite frustrated with it. I thought that my brother would help him to figure things out since he owns the same phone (Galaxy S9) but for whatever reason it hadn't happened. We spent about 30 minutes getting it set up, figuring out how to do things like find his downloads folder
and I was able to see how he was able to process this information. He did quite well and I really don't think that we are dealing with dementia just yet. His short term memory is definitely suffering but I would think that is normal aging.
I talked to him about driving - suggesting that he needs to be honest with himself and not put others at risk. Of course he was resistant. That will take more time. I at least convinced him to eat his Egg McMuffin in the parking lot instead of eating and driving. He tells me that I worry too much, lol.
@SmithOp I completely agree about my brother feeling burned out. They are very close so he is the natural choice, but living with my dad is extremely challenging because of the constant negativity. We picked him up from the airport last night and we heard about how terrible Hawaii has gotten. It's just so sad that he spent 10 days at "home" and couldn't find a thing to enjoy. Too many tourists, too many foreigners, too many cars yadda, yadda, yadda. I try go give my brother and SIL a break and have him down for a weekend once a month, and they are the family members to whom I gave Seapointe trip.
After seeing him get engaged with setting up his phone I can see that he still enjoys learning. I am going to see who offers classes in his area. I'm going to check senior centers or the public library. It would get him out of the house and around other people, while learning something interesting. It will be a start.
I am so appreciative of everyone's contributions to this thread. It is so helpful to hear that others have or are going through the same experience, and what strategies you have used. Many thanks for sharing.