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The Summer Vacation Where Things Changed
I just got back from a lovely vacation to the beautiful, free state of South Dakota. Pictures at the end of the post as well, but the biggest thing that happened was the subtle shift from doing things with Dad to doing things for Dad. 
From both of us going out carefree to me being the one keeping an eye on him, watching for his stumbles, checking to make sure he’s not laboring too hard on the trails. Of being the one who planned the whole trip, paid for everything and said “It’s OK, not a big deal” when things I wanted to do needed to drop off the day’s events.
It’s normal and sad. But it also made me appreciate what I have. Not just my health and relative youth, that’s obvious, but that my job is full of adults going through many of the same things. Where I spent the bulk of my career, I was surrounded by young parents who never skipped a beat to say “you don’t have kids” as a blanket derision of anything I achieved. As if the only way to not be self-centered was to have kids. It was constant, it stung and I’m better that they were not in my life as I helped my Dad and my Mom as she was diagnosed with and ultimately died as a result of Alzheimer’s. They didn’t help us clean her bedsores.
And I appreciate more fully what my Dad did for me. Not just planning trips, paying the bills, and saying “It’s OK, not a big deal” but that he instilled in me the idea that if you want to do something, you should. And, of course, demonstrated the understanding that there are always tradeoffs but in the end, doing something beats not.
He’s 77. I’m not sure how many more adventures we have. But I fully intend to try to give him more for as long as I can. After all, It’s OK, no big deal, to love someone.
Custer State Park, and a bison
The Badlands
Side trip into Wyoming to see Devil’s Tower.
Published in General
What a truly beautiful post!What a gift you are to your father, too. And the photos are spectacular. Thank you for letting us share your experience. I will be 72 this year and don’t have my own kids to offer the kindness you’ve extended. He’s a lucky man.
Lovely! Your priorities are in the right place. Beautiful place! At the end of the day, this is what matters – what you talked about.
Thank you — what a beautiful post. And I don’t mean the pix.
My husband and I have 2 children and 3 grandchildren. My brother and sister-in-law have no children.
They took care of my mother in their own home during the last 6 years of her life, when she suffered from Alzheimer’s and many other physical trials. They took care of my sister-in-law’s father and mother. They helped, advised, loaned money to, and prayed for dozens of nieces and nephews.
When my mother died, my children both wrote letters of thanks to them for caring for their beloved grandmother (for modern children, a letter is a real mark of respect).
God honors those who honor Him.
Lovely. And I’d like an enlargement of that bison photo for my wall. Seriously. I’ll pay.
That is beautiful.
OK, so I attached the Full-Size image … (I shoot jpegs, so there’s a limit to how big the actual image can be … but if this doesn’t work, we’ll figure out a way I can get it to you. I appreciate the comment!)
It just perfectly captures the West. Perfect. I’ve downloaded it and I’ll see what kind of resolution I can get in an enlargement and let you know. I love it! Thank you!
Done. Ordered an 11×14 poster. The resolution is 3000 x 2250, so it should be okay. I’ll let you know.
Have you done this before? Who do you use? Satisfaction?
I order from Walgreens photos, but I can’t say 100% satisfaction. I order prints for scrapbooks after an important event/vacation (last one was a swing through Great Britain). Sometimes it seems the aspect ratio is a little off, but Walgreens is generally adequate for this purpose. I’ve also ordered canvasses from my garden photos and those came out well. I haven’t tried a poster before. It’s supposed to be ready later today (another advantage of Walgreens same-day processing). I’ll let you know.
Yeah, let me know! I just shot it with my iPhone, so I’ll be curious to know how it turns out.
I get fantastic pictures with my Google phone. They even impress my photographer brother and sister. It’s how Google keeps us locked-in. But, obviously your iPhone does a pretty awesome job, too.
The poster looks good. I’m going to mount it and hang it. Thanks again, Bill!
No problem! I’m glad it turned out well!