My Father's Love

I still vividly remember the time I felt weak and helpless before an enemy so strong, all I could do was cry silently and pray for inner strength. It was August of 1990. Accompanying my father, a retired military man, to his doctor’s office to see about a fever resulting from a throat infection. There was no preparing for the news. The words shot through my heart. Cancer of the lymph node, in the 4th stage, 3 to 4 months.
I did not know how to react. I didn’t want my father to see how afraid and helpless I felt. I was not going to bog down, no, not in front of him. I had to be strong for him at that moment. He remained silent upon hearing the news, still the very stoic military man he was trained to be. He turned to me and said the words I can never forget: “Don’t worry, Tes. I am not at...