Toward the Finish Line

I've written about my Dad in a previous post, and wanted to issue an update on his declining health. He called me early this morning to tell me that he had a great night of rest, and felt really really good. No pain, no dizziness, a big appetite are things that evade him on most days. He was so pumped!

This evening when I spoke with him, he said this hadn't turned out to be a good day after all. His heart has jumped out of rhythm, leaving him tired, weak, and feeling empty and sluggish. His pain has returned with a vengeance, so he has maxed out his morphine for the evening. The cadence of his speech, an easy southern dialect, is slow and labored. After a few minutes of speaking, it was obvious that he was tiring.

His beloved brother fell today while fishing, tearing the scalp from his skull, landing him in the hospital for a night of observation. Dad didn't even make it to the hospital to visit him.

He is still committed to selling some fence posts tomorrow morning before church, and to taking my sister and her family out for lunch. He will push himself until he absolutely cannot go another step.

This is the cloth from which I am cut. I am watching and learning and remembering.

No matter what, life is good....