Living
in the Moment
By
Merrilee Wilkins
It
was November 2001...my father was still in his Saskatoon
home -- where he had raised his family with my mother
since 1960. My Dad, my sisters and I knew that it would
only be a few months and Dad would be moving to his new
home: a personal care home as he was no longer able to
look after himself and required 24-hour care.
This
cold day in November in Saskatoon, my sister and I had
stopped by my Dad's house to have lunch. It was a lovely
lunch and one that I knew may not again be repeated in
his home as I was visiting from Vancouver.
After
lunch, realizing the uncertainty that lay ahead in the
coming months, I was overcome with emotion and started
to cry. I was very upset with many emotions colliding
inside of me. My Dad immediately came around to my side
of the table, pulled his chair up right beside mine and
asked me what was wrong. I said "nothing." He
reached out, held my hand and encouraged me to talk about
why I was crying. I told him that I was worried about
him and hoped that he was going to be OK. As I sat there
feeling helpless and still crying, my Dad, still holding
my hand, reached out to hold my other hand and comforted
me as the loving father that he was. It was a moment
where I felt like a little girl again as if I had just
fallen down and scraped my knee...and there he was, comforting
me, assuring me that everything was going to be just
fine. How special that moment truly was.
Later
that day, when I reflected on that moment we had shared,
it had occurred to me that although the Alzheimer's disease
had robbed my Dad of his memory and many other abilities,
the one most important part of his very person that the
Alzheimer's disease had not taken away from him was his
empathy.
That
moment shared with my father is one that I will always
remember. It was comforting to know that he was still
my loving father. In fact, he was very much the same
father today as he was 30 years ago...unconditionally
by my side with his love -- picking me up after a nasty
fall!
© Merrilee
Wilkins 2002
Back
to the Previously Posted Writings page and The Writing Room introduction
page.
|
