Lessons from My (Departed) Father

The Most Resilient Man I've Known

My dad passed away a little over 3 years ago.

Cancer stole his body, bit-by-bit, until he had no quality of life left.

I remember the day he could no longer play the guitar without excruciating pain in his finger tips (a side effect of chemo that never went away).

Or the day he could no longer talk without plugging a hole in his trachea (a gift from an emergency surgery in which scars from radiation closed his windpipe).

Or the day he could no longer walk without someone helping him, because his legs could no longer carry his frail body.

But the one thing cancer could not take was his charming, sarcastic, comedic nature.

He joked with nurses while they connected his port at chemo sessions, and kept a smile when he nodded to hospice workers on his final days.

He was ready to go. We all knew it. He knew it.

But his (figurative) heart remained pure, kind, and optimistic even in the very end.

It is his example that I aim to follow. To be kind and optimistic in all of life’s (and death’s) struggles. To never lose my emoji-loving, sarcastic personality.

Whatever you’re going through, remember to keep your character pure.

I love you, Dad. And I miss you.

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