Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Hard Habit to Break

My dad broke my heart yesterday. He stopped in at the salon to talk to me about presents for Mom. Her birthday and their anniversary are in November and Christmas is right around the corner.

"I've got Christmas covered because I'm buying her a quilting machine." He heard my gasp and stopped. "You don't think she'll like it?"

"She'd love it, Dad. But it's SO expensive."

"Well, yes. But I'm realistic. She could have many many years to fill after I'm gone. I want her to have something interesting and fun to do, something she looks forward to every day. It could be a long time until we see each other again. I want her to be happy."

Dad then talked for 10 minutes about all the things he had set up to take care of Mom after he's gone. He's not sick or worried about dying particularly, he just wants to make sure their finances are in order and everything is organized to smooth the transition as much as possible.

They've been taking care of each other for 58 years now. It's a hard habit to break.

7 comments:

Deb Shucka said...

I see where your nurturing soul comes from. Has he been as good a dad as he's been a husband?

Michelle O'Neil said...

What a sweet man. Is your Dad in poor health?

The Geezers said...

I sure do hope you hugged that old fella, like I told you to.

riversgrace said...

This is amazing, truly. Wow. So so sweet. Good man.

Amber said...

Awwwww! All those years...One can only hope. ;)

:)

kario said...

Sounds to me like just getting the opportunity to spend another birthday, anniversary, and Christmas with him is a gift in and of itself. What a treasure!

Jess said...

Your parents are the sweetest. I'm so glad I got to meet your dad that day. I hope someone will want to take care of me that way sometime...