There’s no easy way to talk about death. I love both of my parents, Steve & Liza Szymanski. They wanted the best for my brother and I.
I am now face to face with my own mortality as the oldest in my branch of the family tree. It feels as though I can be trimmed at any time. Both my Mom and Dad died unexpectedly. My Dad was only on one medication as needed and otherwise looked to be in fine health.
I am struggling to understand my parents dying without any warning. My mom’s death was a little easier to handle as she was on different medications for her mental health, and she had pneumonia. I watched my Dad struggle and demand autopsies. I didn’t want to go through the same thing with him, but it makes no sense that a man that would jog and had full mental abilities would just die at 73 because of hypertension.
My mom died seven years before my father, and they were both dead before the age of 74. My mom struggled with mental health issues throughout the second half of her life. It was hard to understand her actions sometimes, but I loved her and I knew she loved me.
My Dad worked at US Steel for 42 years, while still being the coach of my baseball team and seeing every one of my football games.
I am also the executor of my Dad’s estate and facing the pain of trying to balance the roles of executor, child and brother. It does feel like a lot of families have one child that is financially responsible and other children that depend on the parents more for assistance. However, fair does not mean equal and no one wants to see their child fail.
The only living relatives I now have are my Mom’s two brothers and their children, my Dad’s sister’s two children and my older brother.
The reaper comes for us all.
