When Dad’s No Longer Strong

He seemed like a sweet man and it was hard for his daughters to see him in pain. One called the nurse to ask for meds and later, one by one, they left the room for a few minutes as I played for him and tried to encourage him to breathe and relax. He was very gracious and thanked me repeatedly. I was with him for quite a long time and as I left, he looked right at me with tears in his eyes as he thanked me yet again and said how beautiful the music was. The daughters also thanked me, and one walked out the door with me.  As we got into the hallway, she began to cry and said how hard it is to watch the man who was always so strong for you, be in such pain and be so confused. I continued to noodle as she talked and as she regained her composure, she thanked me again and I in turn thanked her for the privilege of playing for her dad.