Endtimes in Orneryville

Back to five times a week in ORneryville, sometimes 3 times a day.
They tried to schedule some other people in there but it did not work well for the Gentleman.
The family is back.

I came in and gave them my brightest sunniest smile and wished them all a happy morning.
"Jesus, you have a heart of stone. My father is laying there dying and you want us to be happy.?"

Yeah actually.

I pulled up a chair and sat down.
Time to talk.

"I know you find me difficult and I know you do not understand why your father insists on it being me who provides his personal care."
---pause----
"I believe you live until you die. You see your Father dying. I see your Father living. You see a pushy invasive personality blustering into your soon to be home and I see a wonderful character waiting for some comfort care.
I am not family. I am not a friend. I am a caregiver. That is all. Your father knows it I know it and now you know it too. All I do is come in here and distract him for a few short minutes while we do the things he wishes he could do himself. Then I go. That's it. And every day when I go he squeezes my hand and I kiss his forehead. In case we do not see each other again this side of eternity."

The Daughter tried to say something mean but it stuck in her throat.
I squeezed HER hand. She almost fainted.

"The reason I am so good with ornery people is that I lost my own Mother who was the ultimate nightmare for any Nursing staff. She made your dad look like a pussycat. And I knew if I could get through that, and I did, I could get through ANYTHING. This is the hard part now. IT feels like forever but when it is over, it will seem so short."

I went in to him and did my thing.
I left and of ourse said:
"Have a great weekend. Enjoy you time with your Dad."

He died that night. Surrounded by family.
They sent me a card to the office.
"Thank you for your kindness to Dad and the entire family."

See?
Not all bad!

=======