Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Anxious



To my son Tommy,

I wonder if human beings are the only creature that thinks about the future with worry and dread. I wonder if we are the only creation that so fears the unknowns the future holds that it actively consumes the present. It is easy to say to live in the moment, and up until this point I have tempered or completely ignored my anxiousness about your grandpa's surgery today. But the moment is upon us and your Grandpa Leo is being prepped for his second craniotomy. The car ride in, the talk between a father and son of what to do in case the worst happens, is very sobering and knocked down all walls I had put up to suppress that anxious concern. So I turn to prayer and ask you to do the same. 

Dear God, Please come into the heart, hands, and minds of the surgeon and all of my father's caregivers today so they can be tools of Your will and deliver Your healing mercy. Thy will be done. I ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Sincerely with love from your dad,
Leo

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Tonsils



To my son Tommy,

Ice cream! Having your tonsils and adenoids removed is a great test on how you approach life. It is easy to look with dread on the pain of surgery and recovery. But instead focus on the amount of ice cream you are going to eat to keep down the swelling and the two or three weeks of watching movies while cuddling with Mommy!

Sincerely with love from your dad,
Leo

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Lazy Sunday



To my son Tommy,

Your Grandparents are at 10:30 Mass. Your mom is in bed recovering. Your Nana Jeanne is watching QVC or something of the like. Your Great Uncle Kevin is out at the grocery store.You are wearing a rediscovered "daddy" hat  as you are jamming to Disney toons on your boom box (do they still call it a boom box?) in your room while you study Lego  manuals quite intently. I am stuck watching the Muppets because you put it on the TV and then left. The remote is about ten foot away, so I am channeling the pure essence of laziness. If you come out of your room, I will ask you to get it for me. My sloth knows no shame. Anyways, a bit of normal in what is normally anything but a normal existence. I will take it when I can get it.

Sincerely with love from your dad,
Leo

Friday, March 4, 2016

Intercessions



To my son Tommy,

When a Catholic prays to a Saint, we do not pray for the Saint to do. We pray for the Saint to intercede (ask for help for us or another) to God himself. Technically, it is the same thing as asking your family, your friends, or the guy you pass on the street, to pray for you. We just think a Saint might have God's ear a little more.

Personally I pray to family members who have gone before us to ask for God's help for us. I usually pray for their soul first, just in case they are stuck in purgatory, then ask them to put in a good word for what ever intention I have.

Today, on the anniversary of your Great Grandpa Leo's passing, I have focused my prayers for him and my requests for intercession to him. But frankly, I will take any prayers, any intercessions, from any source, Saint or sinner, believer or not, present or passed, all for your mom's healing.

She got through her kidney stones surgery okay, but unfortunately the doctor doubts this is causing her extreme pain that most recently put her in a wheelchair. I so hope he is wrong and that this surgery will give her some relief, but basically we are back to the drawing board and guessing. The medical community doesn't call it a practice on accident, that is for sure.

Anyway, your mom is home and in bed. I watched her hobble in and down the steps because she wouldn't let me wheel her around. I guess the drugs from the surgery dulled her pain enough to walk for now, thus the picture of Nansy's empty wheelchair. Not sure if the stubbornness is genetic with her, or if it is byproduct of marrying into the Downey family. Waiting for 5pm for prescriptions to be ready so the pain doesn't hit her all at once. Other than that, praying.

Sincerely with love from your dad,
Leo