Friday, October 13, 2006

TAKE CARE OF YOUR PARENTS

Today I did grocery shopping for Mom. I also took care of the bills and other correspondence that came in since I was there last. That was about two weeks ago, on a Thursday if my memory does not fail me. I picked her up the Saturday of that week and brought her to my home to spend the weekend with me and my wife. On Sunday afternoon, we headed back to her place.

Dad left us on December 13, 2005. He passed away after many years going in and out of hospitals. Heart attacks, strokes, and seizures kept him from enjoying life one hundred percent. Still, he always had a smile on his face and a great disposition. Everyone who knew him had something good to say about him; and I mean everyone without exception. He was an incredible human being.

Mom had a very hard time adjusting. After sixty-one years of marriage, it was not easy for her to accept reality. She told me she wanted to go with him. Eventually, it was mainly us, my brother my sister and I, and our families that gave her a reason to keep living and the strength to cope with her wounded heart.

Doing Mom’s grocery shopping is nothing new for me. After my Dad’s last car, when he could not drive any more, I took over. It has been about twenty-five years, since I started doing their groceries. For quite a few years, mom used to go with me, but the time came when she was afraid of leaving Dad alone in the house. Her state of health is not that great either. In 2002, she broke her hip from a fall. After the operation, she seemed okay, until osteoporosis crept in. One of the screws the doctor put in is loose. Now she has to use a walker or a wheelchair a good part of the time. At her age—she will be 87 years old next week—undergoing another operation is risky. Thus, I am on my own with the groceries. By now, I am an expert—sort of—at least in finding the things she regularly needs.

My brother and sister were great with Dad, and they are great with Mom. They spend time with her, take her out to eat, driver her around town, and do all kinds of things to make her happy. Mom tells everybody whenever my brother takes her out in a beautiful car he owns, a Pontiac Firebird (I forget the year), one of those collectible type automobiles. She says they were riding along Key Biscayne and everybody was looking at them and the car. My sister calls Mom every day, as I do, and likes taking her out to La Carreta, a popular Cuban-cuisine restaurant in Miami.

We have always been good with our parents. They earned it, never failing to love and care for us to the best of their abilities. Take care of your parents. Repay them for their love and all their sacrifices on your behalf. Make the last years of their lives worth living. Comfort them. Love them. Kiss them good night. Never leave them cold and lonely. Then, after they are gone, you can rest easy knowing you did your part.

Recommended Reading: Ercian Testament - Part Three, chapter 24 “Ercian Values and Ideals.”

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