I got a text from my Mother telling me that my Daddy has broken his right Acromion bone. (this is the flat bone connected to the clavical in the shoulder). He didn't hit it or fall as far as she knows. He is almost 87 years old, though, so it doesn't take much for bones to break.
It is very hard to watch your parents get
old. There is so much that they have had to give up over the years. No more camping and fishing trips; no more trips of any kind. No more wood working or wiring projects. No more taking two steps for each of his one, as I follow him around the yard or the house or wherever else he was going. Gone is the man who could do anything, in his place is a frail old man who hires yard work done and who spends his days taking naps and taking pills. It breaks my heart to watch him struggle to walk across his yard, dragging the ever present oxygen hose. From talking to my Mother, who at 86 is in remarkable health, it won't be long before they will have to give up their home and move into an assisted living apartment. It is just getting to be too much for her to take care of him alone. (although I do have a sister and two nieces there that help her as much as she will let them) They are on the waiting list at a place, and she said the next time they call that there is an apartment available, they will probably take it.
I know that I should be thankful to still have my Daddy, and I am. Very Thankful. I know that one day, sooner than any of us want, I will get the call that I dread more than anything. So each day, I whisper a prayer of thanks to God for allowing me just one more day with my Daddy. I sure wish I could see him more often. I wish I could pick up the phone and talk to him, but he doesn't even do that because he can't hear on the phone and it frustrates him so.
I love you, Daddy. I hope you know that.