Forgetfulness, Commitment and PD

Part of being a parent is seeing in your children how easy they have it - and how seemingly discontent they are. A person with empathy remembers feeling the same way when he was a child, but empathetic eyes aren’t always easy to see through in the midst of a storm. 

Life often gets more complex as we age - we are responsible for more and all of those things pull at us. Within that complexity comes the opportunity to miss deadlines or simply forget. 

That’s me raising my hand right here. This blog has been a cornerstone of PPLV since we launched a few months back. It’s a mainstay in how we talk to each other. It says to you, we’re here for you each and every morning. 

Fridays are my day and last week, I forgot. So I’ll start with the obvious - my apology. I’m sorry for not being here as scheduled on Friday. It was on my calendar, in my heart and on my mind - all of those things just feel very full right now and it got pushed to one of the dark corners. My sincere apologies. 

Secondly, I’ll offer my renewed commitment. Instead of juggling so many balls at once, I’m going to schedule my writing earlier in the week and just have it ready to publish on Friday. 

And lastly, what does this have to do with PD? 

My father, who has been diagnosed with PD since 2001, has taught me a ton about life, strength and commitment through his fight. He has faced adversity I can’t imagine - complex, painful, unfair - things he wishes he could forget. And through it all, he keeps going. 

He has a special relationship with those children I mentioned at the beginning - his grandkids. He brings them a quiet smile, a profound sense of wonder and possibility and incredible support - more than they understand. The first time he laid eyes on his first grandchild, my son, Giuseppe, he said, “Wow…he’s so much more than I thought.” 

And that’s life, too. 

It’s difficult at times - overwhelming and impossible, then, suddenly, exhilarating and thrilling. Perhaps we are able to forget at times so we don’t get overwhelmed. Other times, it just might be the limited capacity of the human condition - there’s only so much we can deal with in front of ourselves at any given time. 

I’m here now. And I’m thankful for the ability to share this with you - and even more thankful that you’d take the time to read it.