i love the rain

i especially love a spring rain

something so purifying and healing to my soul.

to hear the sound , the smell it leaves behind, to the way the sky glows at sunrise just after the shower with all the majestic colors of spring highlighted like a watercolor painting come to life

its raining today & that's just fine with me

( i'll give you a heads up here--if you want a funny, light & carefree post you might just close this one now & come back later, sorry)

dan's sweet daddy is in the hospital with doctors running a gazillion tests trying to figure out what is wrong

today he's a frail 87 year old man but years ago he was a strapping man in the coast guard protecting our country

loyal husband married to the same woman for 50 years whom he buried 9 months ago

a gentle soul with wrinkles from years and years of wearing a smile & carrying a joke

first generation of Swedish immigrants to America

crystal blue eyes that always see the good in people

a servants heart that is currently struggling to find a normal sinus rhythm

he's lost weight from the current illness

he has iv's in each arm & a picc line that was placed yesterday

bruises up and down his arms from where his platelets counts were low

a horrific ng tube down his nose hooked up to suction,-probably the most barbaric medical tool i've ever seen ,because he has a blockage "somewhere"

oxygen canula in because he can't breathe well

he came in to the hospital in renal failure which they think they've fixed secondary to dehydration, from what cause...who knows still

with an enlarged prostate

anemic

now they think gallbladder issues

or maybe a blockage in the colon

his heart goes in & out of a-fib, a-flutter, v-fib and when it does he is confused & agitated

he can't move

he can't get comfortable

he hasn't eaten in days.....days

his mouth is dry

he feels bad for the way he looks therefore only wants us as visitors

& no one else

but he doesn't complain,

ever

of course not

he survived the depression and is part of the greatest generation

of course he isn't going to complain

oh did i mention he had quadruple bypass 40 something years ago, so his heart is quite fragile along with "everything else"

despite all this his nurses say

"he's one of the sweetest men we've ever cared for

....what a delight he is"....

my point exactly

i must say , i think caroline is his favorite

maybe because they both have blond hair & blue eyes

maybe because she's so stinkin cute

or maybe because they just have a special connection , kindred spirits if you will

she's so tender right now worrying about her pop pop

her kindred spirit

and worrying about her daddy & how

he's doing with all this

these photos aren't related

i took them a couple years ago at "the tulip house"

on a cloudy day

just after it rained

god speed pop pop

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;

And give us not to think so far away

As the uncertain harvest;

keep us here

All simply in the springing of the year

Robert Frost