Posted on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 by
Michael •
Posted by Wendy in one of the FPF Winooski neighborhood forums this evening…
Hello neighbors. Its hard to believe that the night is slipping in on us sooner than later and the temperatures have grown cooler. I fight to keep the windows open as long as possible. One- because I appreciate the fresh air. Two- because winter isn’t far off and we’ll be holed up indoors. Unless you’re a snow sportsman. I meant to bring in my houseplants on Sunday but it rained. Decided it would do them good to stay out another week.
My parents moved to Essex Center in August. A year ago my dad was diagnosed with ALS. My sister bought a home and built an apartment unto it. She and I take turns putting my father to bed at night. There just aren’t enough LNAs in the VNA Hospice program to work evening shifts. Dad can no longer talk or walk or even support his own head. It makes you wake up and take notice of simple things you take for granted. Like being able to scratch an itch on your nose or say thank you or eat ice cream. We don’t know how long he’ll be with us. But each day on this earth, I consider a gift. Because each day he is alive, I can show him how much I love him.
I’ve got daffodil bulbs we salvaged from the old home. Need to put them out soon. Dad was the one who loved gardening. He misses working the soil. Weeding. Sharing the harvest. I’m the only one out of five kids who makes the effort to garden. Such as it is.
Days grow shorter and the geese are headed north. Sometimes it good just be able to acknowledge that.
Thank you, Wendy.