Fathers (HoL 8)

There is a split second sensation that most people have felt before, and remember very clearly. It’s that moment when you lean the chair back just a little too far, and what was once comfortable now threatens to collapse around you. There is a sudden sensation of nausea when you realized that you have gone to far and in a moment your world will come rushing by, and you are going to end up flat on your back in a lot of pain.

I felt that sensation on Thursday morning when I checked my voicemail at work. There were two messages, both of them were my mother.

“Matt, your dad is in the hospital, we think he had a stroke. Call me on my cell phone.”

“Matt, this is your mother, call me on my cell phone when you get this message. We think your dad had a stroke.”

My world tilted uneasily on it’s axis, and threatened to knock me flat on my back. I called mom immediately, and found out that Dad had been acting and driving erratically during the morning commute from Gainesville to High Springs. They drove to the hospital and discovered that Dad had no memory of the last hour or two. He was back to “normal” for the time being, but they were going to have to run some tests.

Fast Forward 24 hours, and he is released from the hospital with no apparent cause for his event, and no residual effects. Evidently my chair rocked forward and landed squarely on four legs.

I am thankful for the quick actions of my mother, and others who helped take care of him at Alachua General hospital. I talk to my dad usually around lunch time every day. I usually complain about work or tell him a dirty joke.

This is one of those events where I realize in a surprising way that life moves forward. He is now “Grandfather” in addition to “Father”. I am now “Father” in addition to “Son”.

I was going to tie this up neatly and poetically, but part of my new “Father” title, I have to get a little boy to stop crying right now.

Isaac has learned to stuff his fist in his mouth this week which is pretty damn funny to watch. He has also started playing with toys just a little bit. He will grab on to a toy and shake it around a bit.

Nancy discovered that he thinks the name “Oprah” is pretty funny. Nancy was telling me about an interview with the stars of the new Johnny Cash bio pic on Oprah, and she noticed that every time she said “Oprah’s” name, he would smile.

Who doesn’t love Oprah?

Okay maybe French people who work in department stores, but that’s it.

Nancy and Isaac had a rough night last night. We took him the zoo, and he slept the whole time we were there. He woke up every two hours last night. Nancy was upset, because he had been sleeping longer and longer hours, and this seemed like a setback. Our friend Lynn suggested that he might just be getting hungry because he is hitting a growth spurt. We’ll take that answer for now.

The Greensboro News and Record did an article about how the science museum near our house is going to get a major renovation over the next ten years. I am very excited about that for Isaac.

Enjoy the two pictures. One has Isaac in a classic “Dr. Evil” pose. The other picture just made me chuckle, and sort of blew the zookeeper’s mind when we posed him.

I hope all is well with you.

Big Matt