Is there anything more difficult than facing a parent's mortality?

My father called this evening to let me know that the doctor has found a mass on his thyroid and after various tests, they will be doing a biopsy on Wednesday. Or whenever the sixth is.

How can this be?

Regardless of the outcome of the test, my father is getting older. Things that used to be second nature for him, now take much longer or are not done at all.

He no longer rides his bike ten miles a day. (neither does his daughter but I'm pretty sure she never did.)

He and my mother no longer put in a large garden.

They no longer travel, other than to the various funerals and hospitals to visit their friends.

Even this daughter's eyes (who has viewed him through rose colored glasses for so many years) can finally see that he is growing older.

How can this be?

The strong vital man of my childhood is now several inches shorter than I am. His voice, which always echoed his personality, does not resonate through a room any more. It sometimes seems that he is becoming less and less.

And now this.

Of course, he told me that he's having trouble with gallstones too. The doctor told him that if his thyroid isn't cancerous then they will take out his gallbladder. As a punishment of sorts. Or so he says. And he'll try to talk her into taking both at the same time to save money. And while he's there, he'll meet a new friend or two. He'll talk about church and Jesus and leave them with a smile. Because that's the way he is.

And I can't imagine life without him.