WHEN YOUR PARENTS AREN'T THERE TO CALL

You may have read my story from this fall when my wife Angela and I took my mom on a "bucket list" trip to Paris and London for her 80th birthday.?We had a great time and she hasn't stopped talking about it since!?It was so worth it and I'm so glad I'll have that memory forever.

My dad also turned 80 last November.?I presented him with the same gift, a "bucket list" trip to wherever he wanted to go. A few days later at deer camp, sitting in a blind with him, he expressed that he wasn't really sure what he would like to do for that trip.

A few weeks later, he went in to get some tests because he had started having some pains in his abdomen, pains that had started at deer camp but that he hadn't shared with me. Long story short, on Dec 16?my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 lung metastatic lung cancer. It had spread to his liver, small intestine and other areas.?He texted the news to me as he said "it was easier to text than talk". My dad had received a death sentence. He went to my daughter's basketball game that night because he said, "Cheering for Grace is good medicine."

With chemo, he might have 12-18 months. Without treatment, 6 months. My dad decided to not go through chemo. A life long musician, my dad played a Christmas concert on Dec 22 and then had to explain to his friends it was for the last time. His pain increased and complications ensued. He deteriorated quickly and passed on Jan 22 with his loved ones surrounding him at home. My dad was gone forever from this world.

No bucket list trip. No more of Grace's games. No more deer camps. I was crushed and the emotion was so raw and continues to be as I write this. But I write this for the same reason I wrote about my mom's trip. Enjoy today. Cherish the moments you have with loved ones. Time is limited. I'm so thankful for my last deer camp with dad.?I shot a buck on opening morning, and so I sat with him all afternoon and talked with him. Priceless. I'll never forget. I even took the attached picture.

Take time today and call your loved ones. Let them know how much they mean to you. You won't always get tomorrow.