A Bonus Day With My Dad

My father's not well.

It's not betraying any confidences to tell you that.  He's eighty-nine and in poor health.  He'd be the first to tell you he's seen better days.

But he's in a lot better shape than he was a month ago.  I'll be honest, I'd thought we were going to be planning a funeral soon.  He thought so, too--he had a BAD couple of weeks.  I'm still not betraying any confidences.  He'll tell you he thought he was dying.  And it was looking a little iffy for a while there.

He's not out of the woods yet.  He's very weak, and his stamina is shot, and he can't walk by himself.  He's still in a rehab facility and we're not sure at this point when he's getting out.  But he's clear-headed and not in any pain and his vital signs are in decent shape and he's getting stronger every day.

I went to see him the other day and asked him what he wanted to do.  And he asked if we could get out and ride around.  (Okay, what he actually said was "If I don't get out of here a little I'm going to lose my mind.")

So we checked him out, and got out, wheelchair and all.  There were some logistical issues, but we rode around, and we saw some people, and we ate sausage biscuits from Bojangles that weren't on his diet plan, and we talked a lot.

And it just struck me while I was riding around with him swapping stories that I was profoundly grateful for that day.  It was a bonus day, because a few weeks ago I really wasn't expecting my dad to rally from this one.  And I don't know how much more time I have with him, and we both know that.  And he's going to Heaven, and he knows that, and so we'll have eternity together.

But, even so, it was really, really.....GOOD....to get another day with my father.

Hope all's well out there, friends, and God bless.