Goodbye. Hello.

I was at a funeral this afternoon, saying goodbye to Nadine. (Yes, third funeral in 6 weeks.)

I see why dad loved going to memorial services... they are so full of good vibes. I love listening to the stories that summarize a person's life. I enjoy watching the slide shows that give us glimpses into their past. I like meeting up with friends I haven't seen in awhile.

Did Nadine know she had so many friends? Did she know how deeply she was loved? Was she aware of the impact she had on so many people? Did she know how much she was respected?

Sometimes I think we should all attend our own celebration of life services before we die. I wonder if that would change the way we feel about ourselves? And give us some extra oomph to live the rest of our lives well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the funeral, I hopped over to the hospital to have a quick visit with my dad. My mom was there, sitting beside him, doing Suduko puzzles, keeping her mind sharp; he was watching Ben Hur on a portable DVD player. They both looked content. He looked happy. When I walked into his room he looked at me and with a big smile, said, "Hey! You're my oldest!". And then he looked at mom and said, "I have to go pee."

They are keeping him in until his chest infection clears up - probably a few more days. And since he's there anyways, they are going to use the opportunity to test him for a bunch of things. His liver is fine. (So any day now they'll rule out alcoholism.) His uric acids are high, so they'll treat him for gout. And because he pees 100 times a day, they'll do a biopsy on his prostrate.

While I was there, everyone seemed to be in control of their bowels :) and I watched the nurses continue to care for those old men with gentleness and kindness. I'm still not a fan of the questions they have to ask him every morning, but it's all part of due process. Everyone has stories of a broken medical system, but it's still better than the alternative.

He is getting good care, he is not scared or in pain, plus he's getting better.

It's all good.

~~~~~~~~~~~

From the hospital, I headed out to church.
I love being part of a large group of like-minded people who gather on Saturday evenings to sing and learn.
It's a good thing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And then I picked up a friend and we talked and ate for 4 hours.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three things I'm thankful for:
1. Rich Saturdays.
2. My parent's love for me.
3. Deep, good, inspiring conversations.

Shalom,