I think...I think I'm finally beginning to understand him...

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...my father that is, and what he's been dealing with over the past few years.

Quite the shocking header coming from me, eh? But seriously, it's no laughing matter when I clarify what I'm talking about.

You see, something happened last night to him, which I didn't fully understand why until the drive home to my apartment. Both of my parents were about to leave the home to babysit their grandchildren at my brother's house but for what I thought was a rather silly reason, my father tripped over his own feet in the kitchen, stumbled a few feet and fell over some of my youngest brother's 12-packs, and toppled like a redwood tree. My bedroom door was open at the time, so I got to see the last part of his fall, when his head smacked quite hard against a wooden dresser we have tucked in one corner of the kitchen! I was almost inclined to laugh, as it's been a running gag in my family to make fun of the fact that he's been a fumble-foot for the last 3 years, but I mean, he fell in front of my sister's kids, and I'm sure they were worried as hell about their grandpa, so I treated the matter seriously. He was lucky to have fell down when he did; if he'd stumbled 6 inches further, he would've landed in such a way that his neck would've made contact with the dresser first!

Well, scroll forward to this morning when Mom was taking me and my youngest brother back to our apartments. Dave was in a rather grouchy, foul mood, and was griping about how Dad was always exerting himself when he should be more careful (Dad is almost 70 btw), especially with his recent history of falls. And then, Mom told us something that I wasn't aware of...

Now you all remember way back in July of '08 when I was pissed about my father being so lucky that the doctors found some malignant growth inside him by a FLUKE discovery, and that it was *curable*? And how a few months ago he had to undergo chemotherapy to treat some of it? (which btw, he did indeed feel quite miserable and low during, much to my satisfaction) Well, that's only ONE thing he's suffering from! Aside from that growth and the prostate cancer I'd known about for years, he's also recently developed Foot Neuropathy (that's why he falls over so often; he can't feel his feet below his ankles!) and something a LOT darker then I could ever make fun of...Parkinson's!

Neuropathy + Parkinson's + having a cold recently = a very unhappy person indeed. And to further make me feel horrible, my mother told my brother the reason why Dad continues to push himself around the house, doing the chores - because he hates feeling so helpless! That I can certainly relate to.

So for this New Year, I've decided that he's already been suffering for a long time...longer then even *I* think he deserves, and I'm going to treat him nicer.
As tyrannical as I feel he's been to me over my many years of being alive, he's still a human being, who shouldn't have to have THAT many afflictions all at once.

Usagi1992

heh....I guess it's finally reached that point where no one cares about my father problems anymore, and I can't say I blame them.

I think it's great that you're understanding your father more.