Fast-forward to July with me. Sure has been a while since I’ve posted, and quite a few things have changed. Let’s recap.
I’m typing this in Michigan, as Nora and I are in town for happy and sad reasons. Initially, we had booked this trip so we could attend Jacey’s graduation party and visit Mom, Andy, and whomever else we could bump into.
About two weeks ago, though, Andy went back into the hospital with new symptoms of pain and yellowing skin. It took about three days for the decision to be made that he should be placed into hospice to best care for the pain and another three days for him to pass.
I was able to get up here and get Mom in to see him, but by that point, he was unconscious. We visited Tuesday morning, July 2, and by early afternoon, he was gone. So quickly. As cliche as it is, I’m glad he’s not in pain anymore. I don’t believe he is in a “better place”. He’s just gone.
There will be a post forthcoming about my reaction to his passing; this is not the post for that. There’s a lot to do now, none of which I am particularly suited for. The biggest of which is what we are going to do for Mom’s living arrangements. She’s reluctant to move down by us, and we’re not in a position to move up here. So, we’ll see what unfolds over the next few months.
But today is the graduation party. I’ll get to see all the girls! There was initial talk about us getting tattoos together, but that idea never had legs. At first, I was not really into the idea, but as I thought about it, I realized I would like to have a matching tattoo with my daughters. I even floated the idea that I would be open to getting matching ones with each of them individually. That hasn’t seemed to gain any traction either. So, for now, I’ll just stick with the four I have.