You know how when you're a kid you can't wait to grow up? Then you can stay up late, get a driver's license, have a cocktail? Your parents try to tell you that adulthood isn't all it's cracked up to be. There are more chores and responsibilities, roommates in college, and coworkers you can't stand.
But one of the hardest parts, I think, of growing up is dealing with mortality. My father passed away this morning. Even when you know it's coming, it still hits you like a ton of bricks. His health has been declining over the last year, so it's not completely unexpected. And I know he was...if not "in pain" certainly in "discomfort." But when we saw him at Thanksgiving, it didn't seem that this time would come so soon.
I'm thankful my brother lives in our hometown, because he can be with our mother as she begins to make "arrangements." She's got girlfriends who have been through it and will be there to support her. We live close enough that we'll be able to join the family in a day or two (barring another blizzard). Christmas will not be the same this year, to be sure.
My grandparents have all passed away, and I have friends who have lost their parents. I sort of know what's coming, what to expect. This is all a part of life, but I don't have to like it. Times like these I kind of wish I wasn't a grown-up.
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