Home Today

Hello my blogger friends - I have missed you. I have been in WF all week helping my mom take care of my dad. Dad is not doing well. He is in a hospital bed at home. He sleeps all of the time. It is difficult to wake him to eat. He is forgetting how to swallow. His body is shutting down. Yet, he has no pain, and it is all pretty peaceable.

God has given me lots of time to prepare for this day - and I am thankful. It is a good thing to be able to take care of your father as he once took care of you. It is not a hard thing to do. It is hard to come home for a day or two and be away from Dad. My sister is there now. It was important that I step aside and let her have time with Dad, too.

My mom is incredibly strong. She is weepy from time to time, but then we all are. I try not to be sad or weepy. I feel like I need to be strong for my family and friends. It just does not seem to be the time for that.

My big brother was here for a few days at Thanksgiving. He was great with Dad. I wish he could be here more, but maybe it is different for men. My little brother comes by to check on Mom and Dad every day. He is great.

We had a good Thanksgiving together, although Dad slept through it. One of the Hospice nurses said we were "the most functional family she had". What a funny thought! I guess I take for granted the closeness of my family - it just seems normal to me. The truth is that only God could bring us all together and bless us like this. It is love that helps us bear with one another and be patient with one another. Once again, I am thankful.

On Thanksgiving night, Craig, Kathy, Mom, Jesse and I watched the Miss America Dog pagent on Animal Planet. It was like a real beauty pagent, but with dogs. They had a talent contest and a evening gown contest. My family was cheering and laughing and having a great time picking out our favorite. It will be a good memory - forever.