When we discovered that Dad was unlikely to survive his aggressive brain cancer, he started setting himself small goals. Events he still wanted to be alive (and reasonably well) for.
The first of these was his 70th birthday.
We began speaking about his birthday as though it was a birthday like any other. We didn’t mention that he may not make it, or that it would probably be last.
When you love someone who’s dying, hope become a tricky thing.
I decided to go with hope. And the closer his birthday got, the more hopeful I became.
Which is lucky - because my hope was rewarded!
This is us celebrating dad’s 70th at our place.
And this is the cake Dad was so looking forward to.
Alas, the cake was shit.
Dad’s next goal was making it to Christmas. He did. But on Christmas eve, he had a decent fall. He’s technically ok, but his balance is deteriorating, along with a lot of other things.
His spirits, however, are high and his attitude is exceptional (like father, like daughter 😁).
Next on Dad’s list is accompanying my sister Frankie to a circus competition in Queensland (another state) in January. It’s not looking like he’ll be well enough to go. Which sucks.
And hurts.
For him. For her. For me.
But, so far, we’ve had 6 months more than we were told to expect. And he’s still here.
And so, dear Reader, am I.
And now, I hope you’re ready to see which of the fabulous humans who completed the Great Things survey is the winner of our fabulous
Ok. Drum roll s'il vous plaît…
What do I do now? Do I write the name of the winner here? Is that anti-climactic after the video? Will anyone even watch the video?
What to do. What to do.
Fuck it!
It’s Karen! The winner OF THE PRIZE is Karen!
(Because) you are all winners to me!
Alrighty then, over to you! Feel free to comment on anything and everything. Alternatively, here are some questions:
Did you have a favourite image this week?
Where do you live? Does it get cold there? The thing I’m wearing in the video is called an oodie, and if you live somewhere cold it’s LIFECHANGING!
Anything else you care to share?
sending love to you guys. I’m so sorry your dad had a fall ❤️🩹 “We’ve done it” is a poster that needs to be in every room of the house 🫶🏽🫶🏽
I love how the cake says 'WE've done it' instead of 'I've done it'. It relates a great family spirit. Periods like this make you value so much more who you were put into a family with (unless they're assholes. Then it sucks.). Love the photo of all of you. Good luck in these challenging times!