A Stumble

Two nights ago, around 11pm, I saw my dad stumble. He came to get a drink of water, when he did. He was about to fall down, but held on to a chair (he was standing in the dining room), and then stabilized himself. He was a bit embarassed and retreated to his room without saying anything.

My dad is 70, and he has Parkinson's for about 11-12 years now. My first shock was when I got back in 2000, I didn't see him in 3 years, so it was the sight of someone frail. Now that I live with my parents, I don't notice the change, the gradual decline is not very apparent.

I was fast forwarding through Derailed, the Clive Owen video. I shut it down. I slowly absorbed the revelation that my gentle dad is now this frail man, a ghost of his past self. Then I went to my room, went to sleep, and woke up the next morning pretending that nothing happened.

And it was business as usual.