And Yet Another Change of Plans

A few things have changed since my last post. (And by the way, thank you so much for your sweet words of encouragement in the comments section; you all are so special to me!)

I just talked with my sister, Debbie, who is at the hospital with my mom and dad, along with some of my other siblings, in-laws and nephews; there are also a couple more family members en route. The whole crew is going to be staying overnight in the hospital waiting room.

I have another brother who is on vacation with his family several hundred miles from the hospital, in addition to another "unofficially adopted" brother in FL; they have both decided to wait until dad's actual passing to make the trip home.

After hearing about their decisions, Steve and I got to talking and realized that the chances of me getting there before Dad dies are pretty small. And even if he were still alive when I got there, he's been in and out of consciousness a lot and barely coherent so most likely he wouldn't even know I was there.

I did get to talk with him on the phone a couple days ago and we ended the conversation by saying that we loved each other. I guess those are the best "last words" I could ever hope to have with my dad. (There are tears streaming down my face as I write this.) And so I am at peace with the knowledge that I have said my good-byes.

What's really amazing to me is that a couple months ago, before dad's health took such a dramatic turn for the worst, I dreamed three times in one week that he had died. I know that God was preparing me for what was to come.

Tonight we'll keep the phone by the bed because we know the news could come any minute.

As it stands now, I've decided to ahead with the trip to the coast and then we'll just take it an hour at a time from there. The four of us will probably drive up north for the funeral since flying would be quite expensive. As I said, we'll just take it a little bit a time.

I'm headed to bed right now. It's hard for me to grasp that this could be the last night I'll go to sleep while my Dad is still a part of this world. And yet how happy I will be when his fragile, weary body is once again strong and healthy in the other wonderful World that's waiting for him.

Very, very soon, he's going to be one happy man!

I'll close with a part of a song I wrote:

Heaven's calling you today

So go ahead, go fly away

Leave behind your pain, oh leave behind your tears

It's time to dance, it's time to sing

And rise on resurrection wings

Though we cry for you, we'd never hold you here

When heaven's calling