Dearest Readers:
Today, Sunday, June 16, 2019, is Father’s Day. I will celebrate this glorious day with my husband, while spoiling him just a bit more.
Unfortunately, I lost my father, Walter W. Perkins, on Tuesday, July 6, 1999. Father’s Day hasn’t been the same without him.
Today is a day to show your love, appreciation and gratefulness for your father. Now that I am an orphan, I feel my father’s loss immensely. How I remember the day he left me.
Working a bit late on that date, I drove to the nursing home to check on him and visit with him a bit. He was battling esophageal cancer at that time. Terminally ill. It was just a matter of time before he would leave us. Daily, I visited, unless I was ill.
Walking into the nursing home, I noticed a nurse pushing an oxygen tank. Much to my surprise, she and I placed our hands on my father’s door at the same time. I screamed. I knew. This is it. My father is dying.
At 5:45pm, I heard nurses working on him. One came out, asking me to give permission to resuscitate him. “No.” I said, tears rushing down my face. “He’s a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate.)
After that night, I failed to sleep. The remainder of that week is a blob to me. I remember planning his funeral. I vaguely remember seeing family members.
Now, almost 20 years later, I still ache to be with him, speak with him, sing with him, and enjoy our time together.
For all of you who are blessed to still have your father in your life, please do not take him for granted. Do not assume he will always be with you. There will come a day when he will leave you never to return. You will be devastated. Life is too short, so please be kind to him and appreciate all that he is and will be in your life.
If he shares stories of his childhood and early adulthood, please write these stories down. How I wish I had. I told myself I could remember those times and I could jot them down at a later time.
Poof! Those stories are gone. I cannot sit down with him now.
How I miss Father’s Day with my dad. Please take the time TODAY, to share your love. Thank him for being in your life, and make time to jot down the stories he’s shared so you will remember them.
Happy Father’s Day, Walter W. Perkins, in Heaven. I shall love you, always! May everyone who is a father enjoy this precious Father’s Day, 2019.
Barbie Perkins-Cooper, Author 