[Fiona] Love is...

I started taking my Dad to church on Sundays sometime in September of 2008. He was just in car accident and was a little unsteady on his feet. I told myself that I was doing it for his own good and for my peace of mind. My pops worked a physically demanding job his whole life. Needless to say that now in his "leisure" years he is often in pain from arthritis and old injuries.

Isn't aging grand?

In the beginning I would drop him off at the church steps and then go run errands. Slowly something started to change. I found myself thinking that I should go with him. One day my Dad stumbled coming down the steps so the very next Sunday I started going to church with my dad. I am a lifelong non-practicing Catholic. It is not something I am proud of. It is just that the Church has never really spoken for me or the things that I believe in.

I may never resolve all of the issues that I have with the church as an entity but for now I think I get why it is such a big draw for my Dad. There is love. It exists quietly and waits patiently. The parish priest, the deacons and the sister genuinely love their flock. I see it. In the way they greet those that come to Mass and in the questions they ask about your loved ones. I look forward to taking my dad to church. Love is...right where it has always been waiting for you to find it.

I love my dad. It is my job alone to make sure he is ok. I take him to the doctor, to the bank and pretty much eveywhere and everything else he has to do. He is memory challenged and so he is in need of my involvment. I think we make a good team. Sometimes we argue. We are both stubborn. I would do anything for him. He has done so much for me in the course of my life.