Some Things You Can’t Fix

This is my daughter and granddaughter on Fathers Day. I was asked to start the conversation about final arrangements for the funeral with my 34 yrso daughter. There are so many things to clarify. We went through approval on the obituary. The music was selected. The words to be read were identified. The letters to be read afterward and left for the next generation to discover were collected. The wishes for a party were discussed. There were tears on both sides. I expressed my anger at the inevitable. You see, this discussion was not about my passing, but for my daughter who has a fatal disease, called cystic fibrosis. It is a genetic disease that was passed from her mother and myself to her without knowing we both carried a recessive gene. It is, somehow, not right that any parent must have this discussion with their child. It is even tougher for a father to not be able to “fix” something for their child. I post this because baby boomers have learned that not everything in life is always fun. Some things cannot be fixed. I wear a CF bracelet to remind myself continuously of that fact. What source of strength from within you do you call upon when thinking and planning and fixing are not options?