Thoughts from Hospice floor

The week seems endless....just more of the same....waiting...and watching. There are signs that Dad is declining....lower blood pressure, high heart rate, minimal urine output......all the medical jargon that goes with a life ending.

There angels on this earth....living, breathing angels.....they no longer wear white starched dresses with pinned on little caps....they have updated their uniforms to colorful scrubs and bright crocks. But...still they are angels. We have angels Mary, Suzanne and
Karena. They have paid attention to details....like how Dad puts his left hand into a fist and props his chin up when he sleeps. They will position him just right. They love on him and talk to him.....and sprinkle baby powder on his sheet around his feet so he smells nice....and it is cool to his touch. I am certain that if they removed their "jackets" beautiful gossamer wings would unfurl.

More angels arrived last night....a large group of them in fact.....they gathered around his bed and sang old hymns to him. He roused...at the tune of "The Old Rugged Cross" and "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" and "The Lord Bless You and Keep You". When I asked him if he thought it was pretty....he said, "You bet!" It was a special moment we will never forget. Another moment in his journey....

I "talked" with him last night....he had an old cow trader buddy named Sam.....Sam was a character....but he was honest....and he always behaved himself around Dad. Sam died many years ago....but we always heard many a cow trading story about Sam. Last night I said to dad..."wonder what ole' Sam is doing about now..." Dad replied, "He's waiting on me!" It made us smile.....except my brother reminded me that he wasn't sure Sam was where Dad was headed....:)

We have laughed, we have cried....and we have heard many stories about Dad through visitors. Dad was a cow trader....not a rancher....there is a difference. A rancher has land.....Dad had only 10 acres and a pen behind our house. He bought and sold....buy cheap...sell high. He would buy some of the most sickly pitiful calves you could ever imagine.....bring them back to health and fatten them up....and sell them at a good price. He could look at a herd....predict their weight...calculate the price they would bring in his head.....almost to the penny. He was honest....and respected...by fellow cow men....and the community. I am so proud to have had him as my Dad.

I did get an email from Bobbie that our Shelby is walking! I can't wait to see her little shiny face. A life beginning....a life ending.......and that is life......those of us in the middle.....watch it all with wonder. "We must not cry that it is over.....but smile that it happened"...those thoughts from a friend that dropped by this morning.