togetherness

It’s almost 5am here which means I need to be getting on the road back to STL so I can catch my flight back home.  I’ve been up most of the night with my aunt Sue and cousin Lori at the hospital.  Not much has really changed with Pa.  It is a waiting game wherein the victor has been predetermined, but we want him to have family at his side up until the very last.

It’s times like these when I realize just how wonderful my family is, and how lucky we are to have each other. We’ve had the chance to reminisce together.  We have talked about the good times.  We’ve cried together.  We’ve sat together in silence. We’ve done the things that people who love each other do in times like this, none of it is really out of the ordinary.  It is precisely because it is not out of the ordinary for us that I feel so very lucky.  If I were inclined to religious thoughts, I’d say we were blessed.

I’m glad that I had the time and freedom to come home, even if it was for a short time.  It will be hard not to be here for the funeral, but it was better to come and say my goodbyes to Pa while he is still here.

So, here I go again on another full day of traveling…