Thursday, December 2, 2010

Stillness

"There are things we can do which might give you time,
but we cannot cure you." My father said,
"Thank you." And he sat, motionless, alone,
with the dignity of a foreign leader.
I sat beside him. This was my father.
by Sharon Olds


Two years ago this morning, my father passed away.

"This was my father.
He had known he was mortal."


I never quite figured that out.

11 comments:

Cyndi and Stumpy said...

I feel your pain and loss. I don't think we ever recover from the loss of a family member, totally.

My dad's got Alzhiemer's. I miss him every day. Even more so because when he has those lucid moments I am waaaaaaaaaaaaay over here.

MadSnapper said...

hugs to you on this day. thanks for sharing with us. My dad passed away July 5, 2006 my mother Feb of 1990. I can relate. I don't understand it all either and we are not meant to. it would be to much for us to take if we knew it all. daddy had dementia and parkinson's.

Anonymous said...

It's a life-changing event, even if nothing appears to change. I see you're wearing your Heidi dress, and your mother looks so beautiful...

Julie Ferguson said...

I know how you feel. It will be 6 years on the 17th of this month that we lost my father to pneumonia. I still miss him very much.
~Julie~

Banjo52 said...

I wonder if the quotation implies that those around the father felt (not thought) he was immortal, but he knew better.

We do remember some dates, don't we.

Pasadena Adjacent said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Pat MacKenzie said...

Beautiful thoughts. I lost my Dad 17 years ago and think of him daily. All my memories of him are good. And I see him in my children and grandchildren as they grow so in that way he is immortal.

sealaura said...

Hugs to you from Cali. I am always drawn to your family photographs and you do such a great job of taking us back in time with you.

xx
L

Pasadena Adjacent said...

Something I didn't say on my current post (Jacumba) is it's the last place where my father was photographed. He was on a horseless carriage tour driving the 1906 Buick he'd been restoring since I was four. Finally got it going; and it was gorgeous. He was so proud that he was able to get it to the Desert Tower. After 10 years we finally sold the car last December.

The Retired One said...

I'm so sorry.
I lost my dad 10 years ago on a Thanksgiving Day...I know it is hard enough to lose them, but being on or near a holiday is actually even more horrific.mouts

Pat Tillett said...

The photo is very nice! I'm sorry about your dad...