Life Throws Curves

The other day my grandmother sent a message: "Call about your Dad. URGENT!" Then I saw an email from my youngest brother.

Uh-oh. I'm not close to my family, so two messages at once means it's serious...

My dad was riding his motorcycle through Utah with a friend when a blinding sandstorm kicked up. As they were pulling off the road, a vehicle crossed the center line and hit them.

I don't know about his friend, but Dad is finally in stable condition. He's got lots of broken bones and it looks certain that he'll be paralyzed from mid-chest down. He should be heading back to Rochester, NY soon to continue treatment closer to home.

My dad's a big-hearted guy with a fantastic (and relentless) sense of humor. He has always kept ridiculously physically active with several jobs and a million projects at once. It's going to be tough for him to transition to his new life. He'll have to go through intense physical recovery, a major overhaul of his house, and the psychological shift to a life that looks nothing like he's used to. I have no doubt that his stubbornness and sense of humor will see him through.

In the meantime, it'll be rough going for everyone. Dad's got a wife and four sons. His wife works for the Post Office. The youngest son lives in Texas where he's a physical therapist, just out of school for a couple years. The next son lives fairly close, but has a job, a wife and a baby to care for. The next son has a wife and five kids, constantly struggling to keep afloat in an area of economic depression. The oldest one (that's me) has no wife, no kids, and just transitioned to a somewhat portable life as a professional weaver, struggling but stable.

It seems clear which one would come home for a while to help Dad to get through this, but for one hitch... The family hates me. Yeah, I'm strange, artistic, free-spirited and, like my dad, don't mince words when I have something to say. I really don't understand the hatred, though. We're all a little strange.

So now I'm looking hard at my life. I've got some big decisions to make regarding the next steps for my weaving business, but I really see nothing preventing me from packing up my loom and materials for a few months' work and heading east. If the family could stand to have me around, it seems like I could take on enough responsibility that we could all keep our lives somewhat in order while we help Dad to get through this.