My dad never admits fear. He’s that stereotypical man. He always wants to seem like he is in control, like he knows what he’s doing and there’s no possible way he can be wrong. As you can imagine, that hasn’t really made any of our lives easier because we’ve butted heads quite a bit. I guess that’s what happens when you are stubborn and your dad is even more stubborn. Oh, and then your mom beats both of you for stubbornness.

We were on the phone today and I was explaining to him all of the things I’ve read about this coronary artery bypass surgery and what the recovery was going to look like. I also told him things that one of his doctors explained to me. These are all the things you need to expect, and these are all the things that you need to do to ensure a speedy recovery, I said. I asked him how he felt, and my dad hesitated and said, “Well, there’s just a fear of the unknown.” He wouldn’t fully say he had a fear of the unknown, but it’s my dad’s way of opening up and communicating to me that he is scared.

This is one of those moments in life we have when we get older, and we realize that although our parents are our parents and they are older, in these situations, it’s almost as though the tables have turned. Now, we have to take the responsibility to be the parents and they have to be the children. We have to take care of them and ensure that they don’t worry and going to be just fine.