My dad would let me sit on his lap when I was a little girl and give me hugs and kisses and sometimes attended a tea party...he loved to see me smile...My father would always shoot straight with me....never raised his voice or hit me....told me that life would not be fair and that I had to strong and always talk to The Man Upstairs when I don't know what to do and thank God for pulling me through...and never forget that he would always be there for me too...My father told me that as long as he's alive I don't have to worry about anything even today...My Confidant would allow me to talk about things I would never share with my closest friends....he never judged me...he taught me how to protect myself when I was living alone as a single woman...he gave me my first peace maker...he told me to never allow any man to abuse me and to let him know if one did...he told me he would find him and do him a job if you know what I mean...I always felt safe just knowing that he would be there...Now I am his care giver 24/7....Dementia and Alzheimer's are slowly taking away my dad...father and confidant...he has always been a hard worker...born in 1934 he experienced racism in ways that would make my skin crawl...he admired men like Martin Luther King Jr.....he can remember something that happened 50 years ago but not what happened 5 minutes ago...sometimes he forgets who I am and I gently remind him that I'm his daughter...I show him pictures of my beloved late mom...they were married for 40 yrs when she went home to be with God...He tells me that her face looks familiar...he doesn't remember that his beloved son and my brother also passed almost 6 yrs ago...the worst part of it is knowing that he will only lose more and more of his memory..mobility and ability to communicate....one thing that will never change is he will always be my dad...father and confidant
©poeticluv
P