I'M GLAD YOU STAYED

I was thinking today, yeah I know big surprise. Back in November 2001, my Grandmother took a bad fall before Thanksgiving. I took care of her from 2000 to 2001 and it was very hard to admit that she needed a a nursing home at that point. I felt defeated. My then fiancee, Kelly, told me I did my best for my grandma and that helped a lot for my confidence. The day before thanksgiving, we were at the hospital and I was sitting with my dad in the waiting room while mom and Kelly were with grandma. We did not know if she would be OK so I chose to stay home instead of going to my sisters for the holidays. I would have had to travel from Palatine, Illinois, to Mount Vernon, Illinois, hours away. I did not want to be that far way in case, my Grandmother had passed. Many had said I helped give her a good year. Kept her company and helped to take care her. At this moment it did not matter to me, I felt like a failure. While sitting there, dad said a very kind thing out of nowhere. 'I would never of asked you stay, but I am glad you stayed.' That still means a lot to me now. Grandma would survive and would recover. We would loose her in 2006, after she was able to meet my daughter, her first Great Grand Daughter.

Sadly, Dad is gone too. We lost him in 2018 but his memories live inside my head. That makes living without him a little easier. He lives on.