Joy in the Middle of Sadness

Proud parents!

Daddy started failing the week before he died. Walking became a struggle, so I borrowed a wheelchair from church. When the hospice nurses assessed him on the Monday before he died, they told us we were looking at a few weeks.

My first thoughts were “No. No. No, we cannot have a Christmas funeral. No Christmas funeral.”

Then he stopped swallowing except for applesauce. Then his breathing began to be labored.

On Wednesday morning, I thought, “Hope, you’re being selfish. Wouldn’t it ...