My parents' dog is going to die. Of course I've known this was an eventuality, but with this visit the actuality is much more real. Po is 13 years old. She is gray and slow and has trouble breathing. I hope she holds out for as long as she can, but my parents' dog is going to die.
We never had a dog growing up. My parents' felt that with their jobs they couldn't properly care for one. My parents eventually got Po after I was grown and out of the house. As a result, I usually only got to see her once or twice a year. If she were to die, I wouldn't feel much personal loss. But I worry about my parents. They are both retired, and although they both do theatre and have other active hobbies, Po is a huge focus of their lives. I don't know how they will handle it when she is gone. Would they get another dog? If so, how soon? I'm not worried about the dog as much as I am about my parents.
My parents are going to die. Not for a long while, I hope, but they will. They are getting to ages where that begins to show. My dad's recent heart and eye surgery, my mom's back problems: these are reminders that they won't always be around. How will I react? I don't know.
My grandparents are still alive (3 of them). We saw my mom's side this week. He is 90. She is 88. Oddly enough I don't think of their mortality as much as that of my parents or even the dog. My grandparents have always been old, at least for as long as I've known them. The changes in them seem less significant than those in my parents or the dog. They still live on their own in the house I remember from when I was a kid. They still have martinis everyday at 5 o'clock. But I can't ignore the fact that they are slowing down. I realize that although they may live to see me give them a great grandchild they won't live long enough for that child to really know them.
But the first to go will likely be my parent's dog. I looked her in the eye on Christmas and told her to hold on for them. But she can only hold on for so long. My parents' dog is going to die. It will very sad.
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1 comment:
Nice post. Your second in a row dealing with death. It’s easy for me to suppose that the second one could have been a subconscious consequence to the first one. But writers tend to connect dots in places where no dots actually exist. Since you know that, I offer no apologies for suppositions.
What did strike me was your timing. Two in a row dealing with death and finality at a time of year when everything else is pointing to birth and renewal. I never quite looked at the balance that way before, and thought it was interesting.
See? You forced me to think – on my day off! I hope you’re happy now.
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