Going Home

 

 

The apples were ready to harvest and Daddy would get the long ladder and brace it firmly within the branches. He would strap a big sack to the front of his chest and begin to carefully pick and place each apple in the sack. When the sack was filled he would come down from the ladder and empty the apples into a basket on the ground. As he would clear the apples from one area he would move the big ladder and carefully nestle it between another group of branches and the picking would resume.
As Daddy reached his arm forward, he leaned to get one last apple before moving the ladder. The weight of his body tipped the ladder and the branches could not hold his weight. Daddy was thrown forward through the branches and came tumbling to the ground. Mama would check on him periodically. As she looked out the kitchen window, she him lying on the ground. She screamed my name, "Marian come quickly" as she ran for the back door. I hurriedly came running down the stairs and was not far behind Mama. It was a terrible sight to see my Daddy lying on the ground unconscious. When he was being transported to the hospital, he regained consciousness and was in severe pain. Mama and I sat nervously in the waiting room to hear the news that the doctor would share with us. We waited for hours and the doctor finally approached Mama with the terrible news that Daddy had broken his back. Daddy's heart was already so week. It was hard to know how much his body would be able to tolerate. I remember the day well that we were allowed to bring daddy home from the hospital. We made a place for him on the first floor so we could care for him. His weekend heart mad it so that he never recovered from the terrible fall. On Christmas Day, Daddy went home to be with our Lord. It was a time of great sadness. There was a corner of my heart that was happy that he did not have to suffer any longer.