Today is my dad’s birthday, and by the time you are reading this I will be making the 3.5 hour trip to Tennessee to see him today.  I’ll be staying there and visiting family through Sunday, which is my birthday.

Unfortunately, about a month ago, dad fell and broke his pelvic bone.  They can’t do surgery so he is in a senior facility for physical therapy right now.

It’s been tough seeing the hardships my father has gone through in most recent years. We found ourselves in a similar situation back in 2006 when I wrote this poem about him in March of that year.

From this day on
I will stand by my father’s side
For he is a new man
With a new outlook on life

He was all alone
With a bottle in his hand
Blood on the wall and broken bones
Why we forgot him, I never understand

His body is weak
And he had hurt his pride
but he cried out and
God saved his life one night

His body healed
His pain went away
And now for much longer
With us, he’ll stay

The distance between us
I can’t change the past
But it’s never too late
To make memories that last

From this day on
I will stand by my father’s side.

That’s the neat thing about poems sometimes. They are so very transcendental. I say that because after reading this poem again now, it’s exactly how I feel today.