A Time of Change Pt. 2

So, today I handed in my last comments for the '07 - '08 school year. I then went back home to pack for my trip to see my dad. I saw a Carolina Chickadee, heard a Pilleated Woodpecker ( I love that sound), and heard a fitz bew, fitz bew, which is some kind of warbler, I think. These sights and sounds gave me a sense of renewal and rejuvenation. As spring arrives (lacrosse sticks, the crack of a bat, etc) change is happening. There is a sense of hope (sorry this is cliche). This is a feeling I have been looking for since my dad was diagnosed (see post of 1/31). It also ramped up my excitement for my family and my trip to NZ. It's hard to believe that I am less than a week from departure. Less than a week from the greatest adventure of my life, except for dadness, and less than a week from renewal and rejuvenation. That's part of the need for a sabbatical, after all. I suspect I will learn a great deal about myself and about my life's work on this trip. That's kind of scary, exciting, and renewing, too.

The picture you see is of my dad and the boys two weeks ago. On the bed is my dad on the left (duh), my brother Cal is on the right. Behind them is my oldest brother Buck, my brother-in-law/brother Gray, me, and my brother Nate. This was taken when he was feeling a little better on that day. He has his ups and downs, and he continues to be frustrated and bummed, but there is a sense of rejuvenation in this picture, dad has a little bit of a smile. It's probably hard to see, but at this point he was on a machine I call the lung-sucker. It keeps him tethered to the room. As a result, he has not left this little room in three weeks. My visit with him today he was not tethered. He may have to go back onto it tonight, or tomorrow, but there is some, minuscule improvement. This is renewing to me. There was a glimmer of hope in his eyes today when I asked him if he thinks he could go for a little ride in a wheelchair tomorrow. Just to get out. We'll see, is what he said. It is what he says to a lot of things these days. There is still a long way to go before spring , there is snow predicted at home tonight, still a long trip to make to NZ (benedril anyone?), and still a long way to go before my dad is out of this woods with his lung. But there is hope! The birds are coming back, the family is rallying around dad, there are wheelchairs in the hospital, and NZ is a beautiful country.