When Parents Age...
As many of you already know, I am the youngest of 8 children, which means my parents are more like Grandparents than parents to me. By the time I was in high school my father had already suffered a series of heart attacks, which caused me to be nervous every single day of my life. I would wonder if he'd make to my graduation, wonder if he would be there to walk me down the isle, wonder if he would be there to see my children being born....he was, my father was there for all of those things except the birth of my younger child, Johnny. My son Nick was 6 months old when my father died at the Cleveland Clinic due to complications of the heart. During those last few months of my father's life my life became very complicated. I remember coming home from work and wanting to be with my new little bundle of joy but also wanting to go and visit my dying father. Each day was like torture for me. Not having a better plan, I used to come home from work, take Nicholas in my arms and