Last night, for a time, it was just me and my son in the room with Dad. He was having a bad night, I guess, as if there were such a thing as a good night these days. I was sitting at the bed mostly just watching him struggle. Sam sat in a chair at the side of the room watching me watch Dad. I suppose it was one of those circle of life moments. Me watching my dad die, Sam watching his father watch his grandfather die, both of us looking in the face of our own mortality. Some day I'll be in the bed, Sam will be spoon feeding me pudding and his son will be watching the scene. I found that realization both sobering and uplifting. Life truly does go on, but always on its own terms and in its own way and time. We don't really know what the timeframe here is. He is breathing more easily, but sleeping nearly all the time, a near coma, they tell me. His organs are failing, but he is in no pain as far as anyone can tell. It could be tonight, it could be two weeks. But it is soon/Editor Steve Smith, News Is A Conversation.
DFO: SR Editor Steve Smith has been sharing his thoughts as he and his family watch his father die. Some at Huckleberries Online have posted comments here or e-mailed him. He appreciates those responses.
D.F. Oliveria started Huckleberries Online on Feb. 16, 2004. Oliveria's Sunday print Huckleberries is a past winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Column contest.
such a thing as a good night these days. I was sitting at the bed mostly just watching him struggle. Sam sat in a chair at the side of the room watching me watch Dad. I suppose it was one of those circle of life moments. Me watching my dad die, Sam watching his father watch his grandfather die, both of us looking in the face of our own mortality. Some day I'll be in the bed, Sam will be spoon feeding me pudding and his son will be watching the scene. I found that realization both sobering and uplifting. Life truly does go on, but always on its own terms and in its own way and time. We don't really know what the timeframe here is. He is breathing more easily, but sleeping nearly all the time, a near coma, they tell me. His organs are failing, but he is in no pain as far as anyone can tell. It could be tonight, it could be two weeks. But it is soon/Editor Steve Smith, News Is A Conversation.
