When Parents Grow Up

This is short and sweet! I have not gone MIA, I have not decided blogging is not for me, I have not lost my ability to type. What I have lost is … nothing really.

Every time I have gone to work on a post this week the stupid site crashes. Does this happen often? Nope! Only when I am at my mom’s house. And, I have been here all week.

I love being able to go visit my mom mid-week, that is a huge bonus to homeschooling. Granted, when we do anything out of the ordinary it is impossible to get my son to do his school work. Which is another bonus to homeschooling, if he gets behind he just has to miss out on some swim time this summer and get caught back up.

Now… why would I go visit my parents mid-week for an entire week when they only live about 30 minutes away? Well… once your parents hit a certain age we get to pay them back for giving so selflessly to us. My brother got Monday when he had to drive 30 minutes to their house and help a very sick dad to the doctor. I got Monday night, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to dog sit, do laundry, make dinner and clean little things so my mom could effortlessly visit my sick dad in the hospital. Yes, I said hospital.

I am not happy about this, but my dad is a fighter and I think will eventually come out on top. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and my mom was diagnosed with a decision making disorder, she let a strong-willed man determine when and if he needed to go to the doctor. If my mom had gone with her gut instincts he would have been to the doctor Friday, not the ER Monday. But, alas he went and now he has to get poked and prodded until his lungs are clear, he can eat, and he has his strength back.

I hate it when my parents get sick like this. It makes me realize they are getting older and won’t be around forever, no matter how much I want that. But, it also makes me grateful for the time I do have with them. My dad is a cancer survivor, so the fact that I have gotten at least six additional years (so far) with him, I am ecstatic. And, as for my mom, she knows she has to stick around until my kids are out of college, and my youngest isn’t even two yet.

I am grateful that I live close enough to see them regularly. I am grateful that I live close enough to go help when they need it. I am just grateful for them in general.