Dad forgets Mom died, but sometimes that’s a blessing

This translation has been automatically generated and has not been verified for accuracy.First Person is a daily personal piece submitted by readers. Have a story to tell? See our guidelines atUsually he calls my brother, but, sometimes, the calls come in the night and even my brother gets to turn his phone off once in a while. I’m awake, in my distant time zone, and I answer, honestly grateful for a chance to save my brother just one drop of this waterfall of misery.

The news does awaken a tortured moment of self-awareness and, with it, some understandable panic. “What the hell is wrong with me?” This is hard. There’s no explanation he will understand and even if he could, nothing would help.“Did you come?” This one, at least, is easy. “Yes.” I came, on a flight from Zurich, through Reykjavik, to Calgary. My brother, who still lives in Canada, has shouldered almost all of the burden of caring for our ailing parents.

His initial request for a big funeral had surprised and terrified my brother and me. Funeral plans had never been discussed, and it had never occurred to us that Mom would have wanted something elaborate. After her own parents died, Mom had instructed my brother and I to bury their ashes in the backyard. We planted a tree on top, but it died. I don’t suppose that counts as a decent funeral?

Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

‘Black Bear Ate My Homework’: Redditors Share Ultra Canadian ExperiencesSometimes a country is so nice to a prisoner of war, they want to come back. Eh!
Source: HuffPostCanada - 🏆 61. / 53 Read more »

Bernie Sanders calls for unity, but some of his supporters have other ideasWhile Bernie Sanders has never backed away from his call for political revolution, the visions of unity he also articulates are sometimes at odds with the rhetoric espoused by his supporters. We know. Lol bernie the bolshevik is full of bullshivik
Source: CTVNews - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »

CTV National News: Cutlery that's a cut aboveA cut above: janetdirks has the story of a Manitoba couple who is over the moon that their high-end, eco-friendly cutlery is included in Super Bowl swag bags: janetdirks So you're going to spend money on a snazzy set of cutlery when you have a drawer full at home? Fold sets into cloth napkins and put them in your purse or backpack. Reuse what you have.
Source: CTVNews - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »

That's a wrap on the first tennis major of the seasonThe King of Melbourne continued his reign as Novak Djokovic returned to number one in the world with his eighth Australian Open title, there was a new major winner on the women's side and a few upsets had everyone surprised, here's a look back at the first tennis major of the season.
Source: TSN_Sports - 🏆 80. / 51 Read more »

Andy Gill, guitarist for punk band Gang of Four, has diedAndy Gill, guitarist for punk band Gang of Four, has died GlobeArts
Source: globeandmail - 🏆 5. / 92 Read more »