Tag Archives: Aging Parents

A Man in His Ocean…Drowning

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Photo Taken In Feb 2012

Walk into the hospital room and see Papa sitting on the edge of his bed with the lunch tray still in front of him. The pudding, ice cream and jello containers are empty. Sugar packets lay torn and scattered near his half full coffee mug. The salad sits untouched. 

“Rajdeep, you came?”
“Hi Papa. How are you?”
“Good. Good. Fine. I feel fine. Can you take me home now?”
“Not until the doctor says you’re okay to leave.”
“I feel fine. Good. I can go now.”
“Sorry Papa. I have to wait until the doctor says it’s okay.”

“Can you go and call the doctor then? Call him right away.” Papa is tugging at his I.V. as if it’s a chain.  Continue reading →

Storms, Love, and a Magic Scarf

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I arrive at the airport early, and the sale signs on the shop windows begin to lure me away from my destination, but I say to myself, “No! First find your gate so you know for sure where you’re going and if the flight is still on time.” 
I stroll up to E20, proud of myself for not oversleeping, and as I begin to read the screen with the flight number and time, an airline employee announces, “Last call for flight 456 to Charlotte, North Carolina.” 
Being the detail oriented person that I am, I need to investigate. Is this the same Flight 456 that connects to Birmingham, Alabama? I approach the desk casually.
“Excuse me.” I pull out my boarding pass to read Flight #456 is the first leg of my trip. “Is this the same flight…Uh, never mind. I see that the flight time is 8:02 AM, not 8:32…This must be my flight.” Continue reading →

A Man and His Ocean

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[** Winner of Midlife Collage Writing Contest Monday, January 23,2012!]

He picks up his umbrella and his face winces as his hand struggles to turn the knob. The door always sticks after the rain. “Your umbrella is open.”“It’s fine.” I look closely as he ignores me and realize the snap strap is broken. He’s walking with an unravelled black umbrella, using it like a cane. Continue reading →