He Just Wanted To Sit In The Sun. . .

I walked into his room and found him near the window.  He was quietly reclined in his chair.  The sun was beaming.  It was lighting up his face.  Ninety years spent living.  All the good and bad of it.  The years had taken a toll.  I hoped it was a life well lived.  

I looked at his hands crossed in his lap.  What were once big and strong time had worn away.  No doubt from years of hard work.  The joints looked swollen and stiff.  Thick glasses framed his blue eyes.  He was fumbling with the cuff button on his black and white plaid flannel shirt as I approached him. Some small talk led me to ask him where he was from.  "The Bronx"  he said sternly with pride.  I told him that was where I was from too.  He said he enjoyed being out in the sun.  Then I asked him if he went to Orchard Beach way back when.  It was a beach my mom enjoyed going to as a kid.   I saw the corners of his mouth erupt into the first smile as he said  "Oh sure. . . all the time." 

Although he would not go to rehab with me that day I enjoyed the few moments spent talking.  Before I left I asked him what he wanted to do.  "Please just let me stay here in the sun.  I just want to sit in the sun."  he said.  As I watched him close his eyes for a bit I couldn't help but wonder if in his mind he was taking a trip back to that beach . . . young, carefree, in a body that hadn't yet betrayed him.

Do you ever wonder what life will be like at that old age?  Is there a place in your mind that you like to visit during your quiet moments?