Not forever young

When did my Dad get old? He's having some serious medical problems right now and I'm worried. He's always been a strong guy, someone who towered over my life. He started as a salesman and slowly worked his way up the ladder until he became a Vice President and a leader in his field. He held the Presidency of a major organization in his industry. Because of his business acumen, he was invited to join the board of directors of a company. His sole responsibility was to show up for meetings and offer his opinion. For this, he was paid a helluva lot of money. He always provided for us. And nowadays, he's such a good grampa. Watching him play with Rachel just makes me smile so much.

He's only 65. That's retirement age. He's supposed to have a lot of years of relaxation ahead of him. (He retired last year.) He just looked so thin when I saw him a few days ago.

And he's so far away. I wish I could be there and visit him in the hospital, but I have two kids and we're 3 1/2 hours away. All I can do is wait and hope for the best. The rest of my family lives close by and I feel so cut off. At least he has a lot of people around for support.

I just want to know when my Dad got old.