Thanksgiving 2009...
Kristi, Kelsey and I were so excited to do the Thanksgiving Day 5k. With a lot of unknowns still looming in the case of my dad's health, I decided to still go and do it. I am so glad I did. Walking, running, and doing the bob and weave with these girls was the highlight of my Thanksgiving. I smiled. I laughed. I had great joy.
After the race, I headed home to shower. Upon my arrival, my brother-in-law and friend, Jon gave me the news about my dad. My dad decided to sign a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) and made the decision to be taken off all machines. Up to this point, I didn't tell many people about my dad. I didn't post anything on Twitter or Facebook, until this day... and all of a sudden, it was real and it was grave.
I talked to Jon about my reasoning for not going. I talked to him about my emotions in all of this. I was honest with him. I didn't hold anything back. He didn't tell me what to do. He just listened. He told me that I had to do what was right for me, no matter what people said. Jon may never know just how much of a blessing he is to me. He married my sister almost 3 years ago, and I couldn't be more thankful for that!
After talking to Jon for a while, I decided that I wanted to go to the hospital to be with my family. I wanted to be there for my sisters and for my dad. I wanted to be there. I didn't have anything profound to say, I just wanted to be there. I felt the urgency. So, we jumped in the car (sans shower I should add) and headed to the hospital.
There was little to no excitement... a lot of sitting around and waiting. My dad was out of it. We didn't talk, but he knew that I was there. I knew that I was there. My sisters knew that I was there. After hours of sitting, I headed home to shower, went to my grandma's to say hello and grab some food, then had dinner with my neighbors. After dinner, I headed back to the hospital for a little bit.
Again, there was little to no excitement, so I headed home to sleep... knowing that Friday would probably be another LONG day.
Friday ended up being shorter but much more emotional and gut-wrenching than I had anticipated.
Kristi, Kelsey and I were so excited to do the Thanksgiving Day 5k. With a lot of unknowns still looming in the case of my dad's health, I decided to still go and do it. I am so glad I did. Walking, running, and doing the bob and weave with these girls was the highlight of my Thanksgiving. I smiled. I laughed. I had great joy.
After the race, I headed home to shower. Upon my arrival, my brother-in-law and friend, Jon gave me the news about my dad. My dad decided to sign a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) and made the decision to be taken off all machines. Up to this point, I didn't tell many people about my dad. I didn't post anything on Twitter or Facebook, until this day... and all of a sudden, it was real and it was grave.
I talked to Jon about my reasoning for not going. I talked to him about my emotions in all of this. I was honest with him. I didn't hold anything back. He didn't tell me what to do. He just listened. He told me that I had to do what was right for me, no matter what people said. Jon may never know just how much of a blessing he is to me. He married my sister almost 3 years ago, and I couldn't be more thankful for that!
After talking to Jon for a while, I decided that I wanted to go to the hospital to be with my family. I wanted to be there for my sisters and for my dad. I wanted to be there. I didn't have anything profound to say, I just wanted to be there. I felt the urgency. So, we jumped in the car (sans shower I should add) and headed to the hospital.
There was little to no excitement... a lot of sitting around and waiting. My dad was out of it. We didn't talk, but he knew that I was there. I knew that I was there. My sisters knew that I was there. After hours of sitting, I headed home to shower, went to my grandma's to say hello and grab some food, then had dinner with my neighbors. After dinner, I headed back to the hospital for a little bit.
Again, there was little to no excitement, so I headed home to sleep... knowing that Friday would probably be another LONG day.
Friday ended up being shorter but much more emotional and gut-wrenching than I had anticipated.
