I find it so ironic that three years ago today, I was in Key West, clinging in hope that my Dad would pull through a severe alcohol detox. When I arrived in June 2015, he was barely able to talk, walk, eat or reason. Many of you know our story. As I miraculously relocated him back to Ohio and into an environment of love and safety, he fully improved. For the the last 18 months, he has lived independently, doing almost all the things he had hoped to do; namely, living free. Free of toxicity, free of judgement, free of guilt, free of feeling trapped. Free to live his life as he wanted to.
It’s funny how our lives are so cyclical.
Here we are, three years later…almost back where we started. I thought Father’s Day three years ago was hard, but today have topped the charts. Yes, I am blessed because my Dad is still with me. I’m blessed that he is my best friend and I’m blessed that our conversations have been and will always be from the soul.
My Dad is completely aware of his Alzheimer’s diagnosis, but struggles with understanding how this disease impacts his mind and body. Likewise, he struggles to communicate in general about his own thoughts and feelings. His own space/time continuum and his world is based on HIS perception of how things are unfolding, which may or may not be accurate to reality.
One thing is for certain, we still communicate at a soul level. This morning at breakfast, we entertained a conversation most families sweep under the rug…a conversation about mortality. Specifically, the fact that he does not like living this way, unaware of whether his perception matches the reality of the rest of the world. The reflection in the mirror is not the person he knows.
As the conversation unfolded, I spoke to my own awakening process…and the fact that I have experienced spiritual vibrational energy at a level that transcends the physical being. As such, I have been able to encounter and receive my mother’s spirit in a number of ways – mostly represented symbolically in the physical sense, but also through the feeling of her presence energetically.
All at once, he looked at me and said “That would actually be so cool. Baby, we can communicate no matter where I am”.
I said, “Dad, we do that today and whether you are here physically or not, we will always have our soul connection. You are always with me and I with you.”
His response, “Well, I think that’s okay. Maybe it’s time your mom needs a little break. Maybe I could take over looking after you from where she is on Thursdays and Fridays.”
Some of you may chuckle at the comment. But those of you who know him and who know us best get it. That conversation unveiled a spiritual connection, an awareness of physical mortality and an even better awareness of what lies ahead in the life after life. Not the typical “Father’s Day conversation”, but a conversation that this man embraced.
This man is brave. This man is wise. This man is soul. This man is my Daddy. And we will always be connected at the soul level.
Happy Father’s Day, Daddy. Soul to Soul.
