Anyone who has read this blog for a period of time knows how much I miss my Father and how I was ripped apart watching him slowly lose his battle with his illness.
Well I’ve just been introduced to a site called Days With My Father [Thanks James] that details the relationship between a man and his dying Father with incredible dignity, intimacy and beauty.
When I read it, I cried … not just because it took me back to the times with my Dad [though his realisation that his Mother had protected him from the worst of his Father’s ailments hit me pretty hard], but because some of his descriptions of his Fathers reactions let me truly understand what my Dad must of been feeling/thinking when he was in a similar situation.
[Whilst obviously his wife – my Mum – is very much alive and well, my Dad’s Mother died while he was in hospital and it was up to my poor Mum to break the news to him. After gently explaining what had happened, Mum saw a single tear slowly journey down my Father’s cheek as he started to comprehend what my Mum had just said to him]
As I said a while back, death should be something we talk about rather than hide from and this site – whilst handling one of the toughest of all subject matters – is one way to realise that even in despair, there are moments of beauty, happiness, joy and laughter.
Thank you Phillip Toledano … you are a special man.