That Day

That Day starts out as Someday....a day far in the future that you know will come, but you don't know when.  A day that stays tucked in the back of your mind, that you don't want to think about...to worry about.

When That Day comes, it arrives like any other day....ordinary, mundane.  You live your life, more or less, like you do any other day.  

But when That Day comes, it is anything but ordinary.  It is the Day when things you took for granted suddenly become special.  It is the Day when the future hazes over a little and the past comes sharply into focus.  It's a Day when you start making wishes-"I wish I had called more often....", "I wish I could tell him....", "I wish he could have seen...."

On That Day, you remember the hurtful times a little less and the happy times a little more.  On That Day, you realize you won't hear the same stories over and over; you won't hear the same complaints again and again; you won't get the teasing, the criticism, the opinions, the subjective facts.  Neither will you get the laughter, the gratitude, the occasional words of praise, the love.

On That Day you realize you are a little more of an adult, and a little less a child.  You suddenly have responsibilities you never dreamed of or wanted.  Nothing prepares you for That Day-it doesn't matter if there was sickness, infirmity, old age.  Even if you were expecting it, knew it was coming, you are never really ready for it.  It always seemed far off, a little down the road.  

You never expected That Day to be Today.


Goodbye for now, Dad-I love you.