I read an article in the March issue of Woman's Day magazine that provoked such feeling for me about my parents. This story was told from the elderly woman's point of view, her daughter's and her granddaughter's. This rang more true for me as I am down here in Georgia with my dad as he is going through surgery for the 4th time in 1 1/2 years. I am seeing him deteriorate as he ages and become dependent on others care. This is the man who was my rock growing up and is in my adult life also. He was and is my hero. I believe we are becoming closer with these trips I take down here. I am not going to ask him, Dad, how does this dependency really make you feel? I am not that brave. I ask him how he feels physically. Do you need or want anything Dad? My mom is there for his personal needs.
I do know that I am afraid to lose him. There is so much more I want to say. So more more I need to know about him. One thing I am amazed about is that my oldest brother just turns him away and doesn't bother to call. Doesn't he realize that one day he will be gone? There will be no more chances. I hate the fact that I am so far away and cannot come over whenever I want to. Or when he calls and needs something. My parents are at the stage of their lives when they need us kids to be there for them. They need us to help them around the house.
I am grateful I can be here now and share in the recovery with my dad. I have to remember that "...yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift. That is why it called the present." Alice Morse Earle
"Do not regret growing old, it's a privilege denied to many" Unknown
www.womansday.com/Articles/Lifestyle/Real-Life-3-Generations-of-Caretakers.html
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