Finally Mom patted his arm and said softly, "Greg, it's Rindi. She's come to visit."
He closed his eyes, struggling through a drugged-up haze to comprehend.
And I started to cry.
My big, strong, capable Dad. The man who has loved and protected me my whole life. The man who has been my friend, my support, my security. There he sat, weak, sick, hooked to tubes and drains and oxygen, hardly able to utter but a few words, hardly able to keep his eyes open.
It was quite a shock. Everyone said it would be so comforting to come see him and to know he was alive. But I found it incredibly unsettling. My heart broke.
But when I carefully slipped my fingers into his large hand, I felt the warmth and strength I've always known. He squeezed my fingers tightly and whispered words of love. I was able to kiss his brow and tell him that I loved him too.
Mom looked so exhausted. Sunee and I took her down for lunch in cafeteria. We sat outside in the shade and ate chicken cordon bleu. Mom seemed so happy to see us and hug us. She agreed to let me take her home for a nap while Sunee stayed with Dad. I was so thankful that mom got a little rest.
When we came back to the hospital and Dad opened his eyes to see us, he asked me if we had gone to do something fun. I had to laugh a little. No, Dad, we didn't go do something fun, I thought. We took Mom for a nap. Mom's entire life is on hold as she waits by your bedside. She would never leave to go do something fun. :)
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| I stepped outside, worried about Dad and was met with this sunset. So beautiful. We are so blessed. |
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| Eating with Mom at the hospital. They had such a beautiful pond and gardens. |
I am so impressed with the tender way Mom has been taking care of Dad. She was so incredibly anxious as we dragged her away for the night. Judi, capable Judi, came to stay the night while Sunee and I took Mom home. I kept the phones by my bed on the living room floor. I was on-call. It was a bit of a restless night, but Mom was able to sleep a bit and then we rushed back up to the hospital.
Dad hardly spoke when we came back. But he mustered up the energy to say that he had known that Judi had been with him through out the night. And he said, half-jokingly I think, that it was a night they would always treasure. But it just made Judi start to cry. None of us can handle the emotions of watching our dad be so sick.
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| Oh Dad. How terrible it is to see you so sick. I love you. |
I was really worried to tell him that Sunee and I were leaving. The night before when we had slipped down to the cafeteria to get some dinner he had told us to please come back...don't leave for good. It broke my heart a little. So when we finally had to say goodbye, Sunee and I held his hand, kissed his face, told him we loved him, and hugged mom tightly. It was really hard to walk away.
But reality was facing us. It was Sunday and tomorrow would be the first day of school. Together we had nine children at home waiting to start school. And Sunee would start another year of teaching math and Dixie High. We got in the car and drove like the wind. Not even stopping for food.
Sunee and I covered a lot of ground during those hours. And I later thought, well, we ran out of drive before we ran out of talk. Our conversation wasn't done even when we pulled into St. George. Sunee and I never lack for interesting conversation. So, just like dad joked, it was a trip I will always treasure.
My dear Greg, the love of my life, had everything in perfect order when I walked in. He had given the boys haircuts, cleaned the house, washed and folded all the laundry, gone to the grocery store to stock up, gotten back packs packed and ready and had everyone ready to go to our late church. I arrived home just in time to rush out the door again.
Church was a bit of a doozy. Lance cried or caused problems through my entire primary class. Greg was teaching elsewhere so I was stuck with Lance. But my ward was so sweet. I had told a few of my running friends that I was heading up to see my dad. So the word had spread through the ward. They delivered leftover ham and potatoes from the funeral. Everyone was concerned and asking about my dad. I could hardly walk down the hall without being stopped ten times. They even brought flowers. It was so nice to come home from church and have food to eat.
Greg gave our children beautiful father's blessing to get them ready for school. I knew how tired I really was when I dozed off in the middle of the blessings. But we all had family prayer, prayed for my dad, and climbed into bed. It had been a whirlwind, but I'm so grateful that I was able to go up north. And I'm so grateful that my dad seems to be on the mend. Oh, how I love and cherish my family.
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