Scalzi’s Monday Photo Shoot: Show something you’re thankful for this year. It doesn’t have to be the thing you’re most thankful for; even the little things count. But of course, picture whatever you’d like.
I’ve been extremely busy with projects, packing for the new house while being horrible sick with pneumonia so I have slacked on the assignments of late. However due to the importance of this one, I figured I’d make the time to participate.
Ultimately, while there are a lot of things I’m thankful for, (i.e. my luck in being a mom x3, my job, and my creature comforts) there is one thing that stands out in my book this year.
I’m thankful that my father is still around. It’s been a particularly awful year medically and there were a few times back in June/July that I thought I’d be spending the holidays without him. He’s a recovering alcoholic and while his body still seems to betray him for all the abuse throughout the years, he’s now stronger than ever.
Like it was yesterday, I remember the 3 a.m. call from the hospital telling me that during a routine blood clot surgery, he’d most likely had a heart attack and was on life support. Two days later, he was awake, off the breathing tube and confused from the medically sustained coma, but the whirlwind continued as we hurridly prepared for open heart surgery to repair the damage from the attack.
I had so much trouble saying goodbye before his major surgery. Saying “I love you” to someone and knowing that there is a very real possibility that it may be the last time they hear it, stuns you to the very core. I drove home from the hospital that night numb from the overly emotional impact of that moment. It’s not something that I will ever forget. When faced with your own or a loved one’s mortality like that, it tends to leave a lasting impact.
Nearly four months later, he’s doing wonderfully well. He’s quit smoking, we’ve reduced his medicines by almost 70 percent and he’s as excited to spend the holidays with me and his grand kids as we are with him.
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