Not to bring anyone down or to seem I am seeking sympathy, I have lost three family members in five days. It started, we thought with the passing of my Dad on the 12th. However, in tracking down family to make notifications, we discovered that my Aunt Lois died on the 8th and my Uncle Burl, Lois’ husband and my Dad’s brother, on the 10th.
Dad was 89 years old and a special man in my life. I learned a lot from him, and I hope keep learning even now that he gone. The last days I spent with him are beyond price. He slept most of the time, but we did talk a little. I held his hands and cried a lot. His friends visited and we cried some more. They were interested in the photos on the wall and the history behind them. I helped to relive them and tell the stories behind the ones taken in some cases 50 years before I was born. Moreover, each listener was honestly interested. I felt Dad listening in his sleep.
Though they are unlikely to read this blog, I want to send out a special thank you to Kayla, Lisa and Emily, three of Dad’s Caregivers at Edgewood Spring Creek, Meridian, Idaho. They have a tough job, which they perform with love and devotion. The care they provide is not only for the patient, but for the families too. God Bless them. Even now the staff reaches out to Sandi and I, concerned for our emotional heath in our loss.
As time passes and I get my head around the past few weeks, I will start writing again, and more often, I promise. And, some of my writing will be about what has happened these past few weeks. But, for now, words are not enough, they jumble and mash together in my head without meaning. This is the first time I have looked at a blank screen, and not come undone in an attempt to write.
I cry a lot at missing him. I also cry over the joy of the 61 years Dad was here, he for me and I for him.
I’ll see you in the next life Dad, rest now, you worked hard for it and deserve it. Say hi to Caden, he must be so excited to meet his great grandfather. And tell everyone else we love them and think of them always.