Keeping Dad Alive

Richard and Eunice left behind a 100 boxes’ worth of personal papers and family records. Margaret and her sister Kerry must dispose of it all.

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Richard imagines life after death on an undiscovered planet in a far-flung galaxy where he can recreate his life with his beloved wife Eunice. Margaret has a message for listeners.

Richard is in hospice and needs caregivers 24-hours-a-day. He marvels at all the attention. For his caregivers, it’s a vocation in the deepest sense of the word. Richard makes a case for more public support for caregiving.

Richard is about to embark on his final journey. He recounts an earlier voyage by train, boat, and plane with his young family to their new home in the Philippines. On a stopover in Japan, Richard attends a conference about his new vocation: the urban-industrial mission of the church.

Richard talked a lot about vocation when his kids were young. The word stuck with Margaret. When she asked her dad about it, his answer took them on an unexpected journey. They decided to devote the entire podcast season to vocation.

Richard’s been clocking his progress through the coronavirus pandemic by the seasons, hoping he would make it to this point. Now that he’s made it to Spring, it’s time to end Season 1 of this podcast and pause for reflection.

Music credit:

“Horrible” from the album Mela 2 by the Mela Ensemble. Used under the Creative Commons license Attribution-ShareAlike.