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Near where I live....
What I'm reading: The Nature of Oaks, by Doug Tallamy.
Today started out as a good day but that was short-lived. That's when I entered my father's apartment to see him attempting to attach a paper towel with scotch tape to his leg, which was bleeding. The elderly have very thin skin; he had a large scab that I guess he scratched, and his entire leg was bloody from the knee down. There was blood on his bedsheets, the floor, the rug and him. Luckily I found a full drawer of medical supplies and actual bandages. I applied pressure to stop the bleeding, which he resisted, causing us to quarrel. He is really misinformed about a lot of things, and this is one of them. In the midst of all this and trying to clean him up and his apartment (which he also resisted), I got a text from the wife of my half-brother (my father's son). He is dying. Any day now. She told me to brace myself. He learned in December, or perhaps a little earlier, that he had stage 4 colon cancer. December is when I learned about it.
So it was not a good day. I'm not going to say we were close, because we weren't. We didn't grow up together. We lived in different states, led different lives. We've been cordial when we've seen each other, but that became very infrequent, especially once he had kids. His kids are great, and I know he loved them very much. The whole thing is very upsetting, so tragic and so unnecessary. He is young. He had a colonoscopy scheduled but cancelled it due to covid and never got around to rescheduling it. This is the only reason I am sharing this info here, in case anyone has procrastinated about any kind of routine screening. Just get it done.
October 23rd, 2025 at 02:42 am 1761183754
You do so much for others, remember to be kind to yourself!
October 23rd, 2025 at 04:41 pm 1761234110
The picture is beautiful.
October 25th, 2025 at 03:41 pm 1761403306
I'm sorry to hear of your family's impending death. It's sobering when it's someone that's not older than you.
October 28th, 2025 at 11:41 pm 1761694891
October 31st, 2025 at 06:53 am 1761893624