Sad end to the week

My Uncle Ralph passed away this morning. It wasn't unexpected. He's in his 80's, has lived in a nursing home for 2-3 years, and was recently put under hospice care. But that doesn't make it any less sad. He was my dad's younger brother and they were in the same nursing home. I talked to my dad today and all he could say was "My little brother's gone." Made me very sad.

Losing a family member is hard. Even though I didn't see my uncle often and we had never been especially close, he was part of our family and part of our history. And I know this will be very difficult on my dad. He feels so isolated and alone in the nursing home, but at least he had his brother close by. Now he's just there alone. I visit four or five times a year (he's in Chicago and I'm in California), but that's not enough - not for either of us. My brother lives in Chicago and so does my aunt (Dad's sister), and they visit often. But, as we go about our busy lives bopping from here to there on a whim, I often find myself thinking what it must be like for my dad to not be able to go anywhere by himself or do anything without someone else's help - and I imagine it must feel frustrating, frightening, and lonely. And now this.

So, it's been a tough day.