As I look in the mirror in the mornings, even more so now, I see my dad and it feels good having morning conversations with him. Diagnosed with prostate cancer when he was 74, it took only a few years for him to need chemotherapy, which like me turned his hair and eyebrows a soft white. My favorite picture of my dad is in 1935 when he was 21 and sitting on the back of his Packard convertible with a big grin and cool sunglasses. Dad had a playful side he kept all his life that so many others lose as work, responsibilities, life challenges and disappointments begin to drain who they are or who they will become. Several months before he died, he had us strap him and his oxygen bottle into a golf cart so he could watch us play 18 holes.
Saturday, as I stood in my morning shower, I heard him call, “Billy”. I hadn’t heard his voice for almost 25 years, but I had no doubt it was him. I stood in the shower and cried joyful tears. Next week I will start my chemotherapy and it felt so good to hear his voice, reminding me how he grinned through his chemo journey and never gave up hope. What do you see when you look in the mirror in the mornings? Maybe more important is what conversations are you having with what you see?
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