Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Goodbye Cows (and a Dad Update)

Here's something I'm not used to seeing at Garin:


Six trucks parked just inside one of the entrances. They were here to collect the cattle and take them to Colorado to "fatten up" before going to slaughter. So sad. As everyone knows, I love seeing the cows at Garin. I told these truck drivers I wouldn't be mad at them, since they weren't taking the cows directly to their death sentence.

Boomer and I continued on our little four mile run. We didn't see any cows on our trails but we did enjoy the beautiful park, just the same.



Then I picked up my brother and headed up to San Francisco to see our dad. We stopped and had lunch along The Great Highway, by The Cliff House. After lunch we walked around a little bit and took some photos.

Ocean Beach:

We finally decided we needed to do the inevitable, take Steve back into the hospital. As soon as we walked in, he said "that feeling" was coming over him. He immediately went over and got some water as I stood and laughed at him. He ended up being totally fine.
My dad is in a private room. No beeping machines. Less tubes are coming out of his body. He's walking three times a day, down the hall and back. He got to have a shower and a shave today. He looked much better. I brought some photos of my family to show my dad. I also brought graduation pictures of my niece and nephews that my dad has never seen. One of my three brothers, for reasons different than my own, has not talked to my dad in probably closer to 30 years. Consequently, my dad has three grandchildren he has never met. He was very emotional when he looked at the photos.
He has missed out on a lot in his life. I see he realizes this now. I can try to make sure the remaining years of his life will be filled with a little more happiness. I think at this point, a little can go a long way.
Until later.............

14 comments:

Drs. Cynthia and David said...

There you go making us cry again. Sniff, sniff. Very poignant. I'm so glad you can reach out to your dad at this stage. I cannot imagine not talking to my boys for years at a time and not seeing my grandchildren (if I should ever be so lucky!). I know my young children were the complete delight of my parents while they were still alive. That went a long way to soothing our differences.

Glad your brother survived the trip without another incident! Hospitals can do that to me too...

By the way, I also enjoyed meeting Christy and Theresa on Saturday (still sore though!)

Cynthia

montisse98 said...

No doubt, your forgiveness and emotional support will go a very long way in helping your dad heal and recover.

And loved those pics of the Ocean Beach!

Missy said...

DAYUM you, stop ittttt!;) Good for you. While hard at first, sometimes, it's just easier to let stuff go and not worry about who was wrong or right.

Poor cows...but they are delicious.

Anonymous said...

In difficult times like seeing your dad not so well it is often easier to let go of the past. It was a chance for me when my dad got ill a year ago. It made us be much closer. I don't regret, but am proud for being able to look beyond. I wish the same for your family.

And for the cows! This is really sad.They kinda were your trail running buddies - or better "audience".

Unknown said...

great pictures, as always (sorry my comments see to be the same each time, but seriously, i love your pics)

Sounds like your dad is doing well. Walking is great. When I see my sister later today I will find out about her trip to see our dad (which she originally said she was not doing, but then changed her mind after). lot of us going though a similar time. i'm proud of you for how you are handling it. :-)

Marlene said...

My Dad left my Mom this year (and in a way, left his 4 kids too). We haven't seen him in months. Reading this makes me so worried that this will happen to my family... 30 years from now we'll visit my Dad in a hospital and he'll realize he's missed out on our lives, meeting grand-children... it hits home for me a little bit.

I'm glad you were able to see him again (and that your brother held up!) and show him some photos. Sounds like he is doing better too!

René said...

What an amazing emotional journey!

Marlene said...

That's exactly how I feel... not wanting to betray my Mom. I want to hate him for her, you know?
Hopefully this will get easier in time.

Thanks for your comment/support.

Lily on the Road said...

So glad that the communication channels are opening up slowly. My dad was never the "white picket fence" dad either, hopefully soon the whole family will be able to reach out to him the way you have....thanks for sharing...family, "gotta love them"

Aron said...

I am so glad things are working out between your dad and you. I can't imagine what an emotional and hard journey its been for your whole family, but you are an amazing person for making things somewhat better.

:( will miss the cow pics too.

Stuart said...

Sounds like you bridges are slowly being mended...good news indeed.

And in other news look at you all scrubbed up!

Southbaygirl said...

Jo Lynn, I'm so glad that each visit with your dad becomes easier and easier! You two can't make up for time lost, but you have done wonders in bridging the huge gap! And I know you can see it in your dads face and eyes! I'm so glad you are able to get to know your dad again before it was too late!!

Your brother makes me laugh..

And I'm sorry but I guess that's why I'm a vegetarian. I just can't stand the though of those gentle giants heading off to slaughter! I'm dealing with neighbors who have a goat that is living in squalor that they will be killing for stew-makes me sick to my stomach! I'm becoming that nut job animal advocate in my neighborhood-next thing you know you'll see me in PETA ads!

209Mike said...

So proud of you JoJo. Glad to hear that you are reconnecting. Puts everything else (running, cows, etc.) in perspective. Family is #1. Looking forward to seeing you soon.

Kristin @ The Southern Summer said...

A) You're crazy! You look FAB!
B) Short reader feeds: When bloggers "shorten" their posts in Readers, like Google Reader, so that when you're looking through the posts all you can read is the first paragraph until you click through to the actual page.
C)Beautiful pics!
D) I'm sending good thoughts your way about your dad, I know thats rough. It's sad to have regrets, I hope he can "make nice" with your brother. Im sure thats painful for you! My dad is always fighting with his side of the family, its quite uncomfortable and I hate it.