12-23-2023, 11:57 PM
So December is always crazy. Wife's birthday, kid's birthday, nutcracker practice, x-mas, just wears you down.
Add to that this year, father in law had quintuple bypass days before Thanksgiving, and a roller coaster of recovery and setbacks to make everything just that much more chaotic. His health had been worsening throughout this week, and we finally pulled the curtain back. We were hopeful for the best, but there was a good chance he wasn't gonna make it. My son was in the ICU with him while he had a choking fit while on a ventilator. I was shook; if he was, he held it back. Our youngest thankfully never had to see her grampa in that bed with so many tubes flowing in and out of his hospital bed.
Thursday was bad. The day started with a code, but they brought him back. My wife was in full daughter mode, there with her dad and mom while I tended to the kids. Then it hit me. Oh God, keep him just a few more days. How would my little girl handle losing her grampa on her birthday? Late Thursday night, mom decided to stop the fight, dad just wasn't recovering. He passed at 12:20 Friday morning, my daughter's birthday. She was home asleep, thankfully I was able to be there for my bride and mother in law as he passed. We all understood the morning was going to be so rough to break the news. We were home by about 2, and exhaustion granted us all a few winks.
At 6:30, my daughter rolled into our bedroom, eager to celebrate her day. She was surprised to find gramma stumbling in behind her after a brief sleep on our couch. We got through breakfast, mostly, and figured we needed to have a conversation that was going to ruin her day. We broke the news as a family, and both kids took everything in, and I don't know if it was the sense of relief that the adults were giving off or what, but they took everything in stride.
"I'm confused." my daughter said. "What's that, baby?"
"Of all days, why did it have to be my birthday?"
"Well, we never know when anyone's time will come. But, this means you'll always remember grampa."
"Yeah. Hey mom, remember I got that nail set? We should get manicures and pedicures. Maybe a hair-i-cure, too."
[thinking, to myself] I'm an idiot. Kids got this.
Add to that this year, father in law had quintuple bypass days before Thanksgiving, and a roller coaster of recovery and setbacks to make everything just that much more chaotic. His health had been worsening throughout this week, and we finally pulled the curtain back. We were hopeful for the best, but there was a good chance he wasn't gonna make it. My son was in the ICU with him while he had a choking fit while on a ventilator. I was shook; if he was, he held it back. Our youngest thankfully never had to see her grampa in that bed with so many tubes flowing in and out of his hospital bed.
Thursday was bad. The day started with a code, but they brought him back. My wife was in full daughter mode, there with her dad and mom while I tended to the kids. Then it hit me. Oh God, keep him just a few more days. How would my little girl handle losing her grampa on her birthday? Late Thursday night, mom decided to stop the fight, dad just wasn't recovering. He passed at 12:20 Friday morning, my daughter's birthday. She was home asleep, thankfully I was able to be there for my bride and mother in law as he passed. We all understood the morning was going to be so rough to break the news. We were home by about 2, and exhaustion granted us all a few winks.
At 6:30, my daughter rolled into our bedroom, eager to celebrate her day. She was surprised to find gramma stumbling in behind her after a brief sleep on our couch. We got through breakfast, mostly, and figured we needed to have a conversation that was going to ruin her day. We broke the news as a family, and both kids took everything in, and I don't know if it was the sense of relief that the adults were giving off or what, but they took everything in stride.
"I'm confused." my daughter said. "What's that, baby?"
"Of all days, why did it have to be my birthday?"
"Well, we never know when anyone's time will come. But, this means you'll always remember grampa."
"Yeah. Hey mom, remember I got that nail set? We should get manicures and pedicures. Maybe a hair-i-cure, too."
[thinking, to myself] I'm an idiot. Kids got this.