I just read this blog post from Dax Shepard about his relationship with his father as they dealt with his father's cancer diagnosis. There is so much about it that is worth a read. Consider making the time for it if you don't think you have it.
The most poignent pieces have to do with the simplest aspects of life.
I also find his reference to about the "convenience" of illness timely, given my recent thoughts on the matter. It is good to see the realness of his situation. So often people do not know a reality other than the ones that are either in the movies, or the ones that people make up to cover up what really is happening.
"It was the phone call you see on TV and in movies. It was happening to me now, and I found the timing to be exceedingly inconvenient. In movies, news of this kind seems to always coincide with a huge hole in the lead character’s schedule. He or she is able to spend vast amounts of time at the bedside of the loved one, or at a diner having coffee and pie with estranged family members. This flexible schedule allows for some high quality catharsis to take place."
He goes on to say that his experience was nothing like it. For many death and illness are incredibly inconvenient. Continuing with that "theme," a friend of mine was just telling me that a friend of his was saying something similar in their conversation last night. That is three references in just a day. I can't help but wonder if it is supposed to mean something to me - more than just the obvious.
The type of entry that Dax wrote is the kind of blog that I would welcome here and am encouraging those who know a thing or two about these types of experiences to share. I think there needs to be more insight into how things are for those who have these kinds of dances in life. It is my belief that the taste of reality is helpful in many ways, not the least of which is the testament they are to the incredible nature of what it is to be human without the trappings.
I don't know if you will ever see this, Dax, but thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing this Elizabeth. When my mom was diagnosed with a brain tumor, it was too late for treatment and too late to share any lingering goodbyes - as the movies would lead you to expect. She went into a coma and never regained consciousness, dying a few weeks after the devastating diagnosis. It was nothing like the movies portray
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Marie. I think we are often shocked and in denial about "reality" when it occurs differently than we expect it to, based on our only experience of it that comes - many times - with movies.
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