An Early Father’s Day with Dad Cone: June 13, 2012

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I’m a little late with an update on Dad Cone from yesterday, but Ricky wanted to share some things with you in his own words so here it is…straight from his lips to my fingers 😉

June 13, 2012
In the last couple days, dad has become really unstable on his feet and needed much more assistance more quickly than originally anticipated. Since we hadn’t totally figured out his care, I wanted to make sure he was safe, so I slept on the floor on front of the couch last night (he’s been sleeping on the couch the past couple nights because he felt more comfortable there).

Dad woke up by 7am (after one of the first, restful night’s sleep he’s had in a long time) and we had coffee together outside on his patio. He’s been talking about coming to our new house in Nashville to have coffee with me on our back deck, so this was the closest thing to that I knew I could give him right now. I knew I couldn’t bring him to Nashville with me at this point, so I just closed my eyes and imagined we were there together.

My mom came over with some of her own family who happened to be in town visiting. Dad also welcomed other old friends, with whom he was able to share some bright news in the midst of this dark time: he accepted Christ into his heart the night before after dinner at his sister’s house! My Aunt Susan and I began to lead my dad in prayer, but he soon took over, making the prayer his own and asking God for forgiveness and grace…and to fill his heart with the gift only He can give. The phrase that sticks out to me most came after I asked him what he was feeling at this moment, to which he replied, “I remember having this feeling before; I feel like the biggest load is off my chest. God lives in my heart and I’m ready to go!”

Which leads me to another standout moment for the day: I can’t say exactly how it happened, but my dad and our family make peace with his prognosis today. Up until now, many conversations about further treatment and surgeries kept circling. We understood that everyone wanted to keep hope alive, yet we also knew the clear diagnosis that came with this disease. By us all getting on the same page, we were able to make plans for celebrating the remainder of his days with us.

One of the ways we chose to celebrate was by taking Dad Cone out for an early Father’s Day steak dinner (his choice!). It was just our immediate family (Anita, Ryan, Katie & Steven, and me, Sami and our kids) and another highlight was watching dad get driven there by Katie in a convertible!

Kariss especially enjoyed the ride, but perhaps we should have invested in a ponytail holder before we let her sit in the back seat…

Here’s a shot of the boys we took before dinner with Steven, Ryan, Dad, Britton & me:

We’ve reminisced about old times and continue to make new memories even now. I have felt the love through your phone calls, texts, Facebook and even in person. I apologize for not being able to speak to each one of you directly, but know from the bottom of my heart that I love each and every one of you. Once I see your name pop up, the memories of you and my dad fill my mind.

My dad is a well-loved man in this town and has been shown that through your outpouring of love to each one of our family members. Everyone knows how much of a people-person my dad is and how he loves to converse and entertain; the days and weeks ahead will hopefully be filled by each one of you stopping by and sharing some of your own wonderful memories with him. All he wanted was to be home, be comfortable and to be with the ones he loves. On behalf of all of our family, THANK YOU! ~ Ricky

Read the whole story about Dad Cone’s journey from the beginning…