My Father

My father will be going into hospice probably tomorrow afternoon. This might not sound like good news but it definitely is the best of the options available for his condition. I admire my mother so much for stepping up to support her husband in love and help him make the decisions he is too confused to properly consider right now. She has gone through so much grieving and, of course, will continue to do so but she was a source of quiet strength for Dad today.

A few days ago when he was much less coherent than he is right now, my father was telling me that he'd like an Irish wake. I told him that I'd rather have an Irish welcome home celebration. He somehow latched onto that and this morning when he decided that hospice was the best course, then wanted to get on with planning the party.

So we are throwing ourselves into getting his "welcome home" party planned. Ok, to be totally truthful, my sister has taken charge of that (thank goodness, because my "taking charge" batteries are all run down right now). We are seeing about appetizers from his favorite restaurant (Ocean Zen), with pastries reminiscent of some favorites from his youth, crossing our fingers that the guest list will not have Halloween parties to attend until later in the evening, and suchlike. All this goes on with regular hospital visits and assigned tasks to do with clearing out their home for rental, etc.

This afternoon when my brother and I spent a few hours with Dad, he was telling the most hilarious stories and we were laughing so hard that we could hardly breathe. A prep session, perhaps, for the party.

I am so thankful for all the prayers. I know that they made a huge difference. Although there have been many problems, difficult decisions, and much crying and heart-rending pain, there have also been many examples of love and sacrifice offered up for each other in our little family in service of each other. This morning was the culmination of all that. I prayed for the Holy Spirit to flow and for God's will to be done and I believe that it is, as best we can carry it out. The way suddenly became smoother, as often happens, and various people at peace and in harmony as we worked our way through the day.