Love and Sorrow in the Same Hour

      My family and I are dealing with the recent hospitalization of my father, which turned into a search for long-term care. He is a Vietnam Veteran with a purple heart, but finding a place for his care is turning out to be extraordinarily difficult. My father suffers from dementia as well as a number of physical health problems that keep him bedridden. The doctors recently suggested we consider hospice. 

     It is crazy how through all of this I have found my emotions fluctuating like a yo-yo, shattering at some bit of painful news and then swelling with love and appreciation in the same hour. Such has been the case for a few weeks now. It seems to me that the human heart was made both to break and to mend in order for humanity to effectively experience a vast range of emotions. We feel both pains and pleasures, developing in the process a true capacity for empathy. I love my dad while at the same time I feel deep sadness for his present circumstances. 

     Life gives us joy, and it gives us misery. It does so for everyone. And thank heaven, for it is what makes us human.