OMG this is fabulous! Everyone should see this! I collapsed in tears!

[saracat]

http://www.paete.org/movies/ParentWish.wmv

[napi21]

1. Wow! That's quite a movie.

At 62, I understand it very well.

[karlrschneider]

4. Wow.

Just...wow.

[saracat]

6. This should be nominated for greatest page so more people can

see this!I hope some people will nominate it!! I think it is so poignant and one of the best things I have seen on the net!

[blueknight]

2. very touching,

thank you so much for that. that is exactly the way i took care of my dear mom before she passed. i still miss her so bad. r.i.p. mom

[lumpy]

26. At 77 I still miss my Mom & Dad

and think of them every day with such love and appreciation. And too soon I will be a living memory also. I will miss my children and I know they will miss me until we meet again.

[brook]

48. I'm 72...

and your words are also my thoughts. Happy Holidays.

[doublethink]

3. K&R

Very touching. Thank you for sharing this. Peace.

[malaise]

5. That's so beautiful

The Irish singer Brian Kennedy did a live version at George Best's funeral service and I was weeping then. His single was released on December 15 and I plan to get a copy later this week.

Here are the lyrics. I do love this song.
http://www.oracleband.net/Lyrics/you-raise-me-up.htm

Edit - add.

[blm]

14. I didn't hear about Bestie's funeral.

I was busy with a sick child. I just think he was an amazing character from head to toe.

[malaise]

17. I watched it on BBC via the internet

was lovely - very Irish. What a great footballer - he gave me so much pleasure. Hope your child is better now.

[Helga Scow Stern]

34. I love Brian Kennedy. Where can we get this single?

[malaise]

36. I' m going to check the record store

but if I can't find it, I'll order from Curb records - check here.
http://www.briankennedy.co.uk/

[helderheid]

7. downloading now...

[Sapphire Blue]

8. Thank you.

[babsbunny]

10. Okay, I wasn't ready for that!

There goes the mascara! I am 50, and I just told my Son that My dream when it comes to leaving this word would be to leave without my children ever having to change my depends!

[indie_voter]

9. This was very very difficult to watch

My dad died Dec 25th last year. I can not believe it has almost been 1 year. There isn't a day I don't miss him or think about him.

He was so upset when Bush "won", I am just so happy he saw the Red Sox win to temper the disappointment.

Thank you for posting this.

[malaise]

13. Must be a hard time for you

I know -my youngest sister died earlier this year and she loved this song.

[indie_voter]

18. I am so very sorry. My best to you and your family. n/t

[malaise]

20. Truthfully a good cry

is just proof that I really miss my kid sister and I did just that while watching. It is way better than watching Bush and his bullshit. I am very happy for this as I am alone this weekend.

[indie_voter]

22. I am so sorry you are alone and grieving.

There are many of us with you in spirit!

[malaise]

24. The better half will be back tomorrow

and we'll join my sibblings later in the week. Sometimes tears are carthartic. It's not unpleasant thinking of my kid sister or my parents who died years ago. They raised me up big time.

At least I'm not thinking about the lunatic running the planet.
Thanks for your kind thoughts.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. Our fifth graders sang that song at their promotion ceremony last year

Most of the parents cried.

[BamaBecky]

12. That was simply beautiful

[RoyGBiv]

15. That was way too intense for me ...

I mean absolutely no disrespect because you're right. That is beautiful. But, I wish I'd known more what it was about before I watched it. I had to stop less than a minute in. This hit way too close to home, and I have a great deal of trouble maintaining cheerfulness this time of year because of personal memories related to the subject of that video.

Before she died, my grandmother, who was a parent to me, spent three holiday seasons in the hospital in a city about a hundred miles from where my mom and I lived. We went up there as often as possible, every weekend and as much during the week as we could afford to do. Mom and I had been taking care of her since her kidneys failed and had had a leg amputated, so it felt very strange not to be with her all the time, and we worried. However, one of Mom's sisters lived there and had three daughters that guaranteed they would help and make sure Grandma was never alone. She was terrified of dying alone.

To make a long story short, my aunt and cousins spend all that time convincing Grandma that she was a burden to my mother and me and that she needed to agree to go to a nursing home so "professionals" could tend to her needs. This drove Grandma to the point of wanting to kill herself ... because she felt none of her children or even grandchildren wanted her any more. (Her son and other sister had already pretty much abandoned her.) I was the one that got this story out of her, on a Christmas day Mom and I spent in her hospital room while the rest of the family "did their own thing." I could tell by the way she was talking, or not talking, that something serious was on her mind, and she finally broke down in tears and let it out.

She died four months later, at home, with Mom and I with her. She was clean, had plenty of time to talk with us, and she was happy, no thanks to her other children. Yes, I am quite bitter about it and always will be.

Anyway ... sorry for the personal rant/story, but I had to let that work its way through my mind in some fashion, or I would have been depressed all night.

[malaise]

19. It's always like that

in families. It is rare when everyone is willing to care for our old and feeble. Do not be bitter - just enjoy the beautiful memories of your grandma. Watch the video and have a good cry then celebrate her life.

[bonito]

40. I've read all the post

But I don't think I'll go to the link, probably tear me up to, I care for my wife, and my mom is here with us too, she's 92 with mid stage Alzheimer's, the only way I can keep caring is to detach to a degree to be effective in keeping everything together. I do think I will download the link to the music though thanks to our kind poster. Peace

[RoyGBiv]

41. For the record ...

The video, which is a compilation of pictures and touching, "When I am old ... remember ..." type things is very well done, very touching and in and of itself actually inspiring. On down in the thread someone said it isn't depressing, and on that level, it isn't.

What makes it depressing are the memories or current images it can trigger if you're in or have been in the position of caring for someone in the last stages of life, particularly if others in the family have "abandoned" that person or you or even if others have put you in the position of having to choose between someone you love and someone or something else. My mother, for example, had to fight hard to keep her job so that she could care for Grandma, and my education suffered severely. Neither of us regret any decision we made, but things like this, at least for me, make me recall the callous attitude of so many people who didn't understand or just didn't give a damn because that's what lies underneath the positive message of this piece. There are many people out there that just do not give a shit about anyone but themselves.

My memories of Grandma are all wonderful memories. Even the bad things that happened along the way have left a positive impression on me one way or another (hospital food has a strange, calming effect on me, for example), but like you I've had to detach myself from some of it to do things like continue to get along with certain family members or just cope with life in general. I've had to make up stories that stray from reality about why my college transcript is so bizarre in the middle of it because when I've tried to tell the truth, I get glazed stares and accusatory glances. Yes, I said accusatory. I had one professor refuse to let me retake a final that I missed because my grandma was having an emergency leg amputation that she was not expected to survive. She did, and that was "the problem." My professor actually wanted me to produce for him a statement from her doctors indicating the survival probabilities she had faced and a statement on why it was "necessary" that I be at the hospital before or during the surgery. I snapped, told him to go fuck himself and flunked that semester in all classes because I didn't take any of the rest of my finals and never even attempted an explanation fearing a repeat of that scene. No, it wasn't the most mature thing to do, but I was a dumbass kid who just knew his grandma was leaving him slowly and painfully and no one seemed to care at all how that made me feel.

Okay...sorry. I'm ranting again, but that's the problem. I haven't thought about that stuff in years. I've been thinking about it ever since I watched this piece.

Once again, I do mean no disrespect to anyone suggesting people watch this because they are all right. It *is* beautiful. Perhaps I'm too sensitive.

[malaise]

46. That professor was a real low life

Enjoy the holidays and hug those you love.

[Imalittleteapot]

16. Lovely.

Makes me want to call my Mom. We haven't spoken since Katrina. Thanks for posting.

[Sapphire Blue]

21. kick

... and thank you again.

[buddysmellgood]

23. Funny thing. I thought you collapsed in tears from laughing.

I kept waiting for a punch line, but as it moved along, I just kept thinking how dark, snarky and jaded it would have to be to drop a joke at the end. To much truth developed too fast for it to have a punchline. That is a very strange frame of mind to view such a piece. Thanks for posting.

[SW FL Dem]

25. Beautiful

It expresses my Grandparents' feeling very eloquently. They both had DNRs and living wills and would love this movie. I was with my Grandpa a few hours before he died and he clearly wanted to go. It was his choice and I am glad his caretakers respected his wishes.

[rasputin1952]

27. Thank you for the link...that was truly beautiful...

and well worth a

[brook]

28. I'm in tears.

One of my children grew angry with me recently because I was not 'up to' what said child thought needed doing. Now we are not speaking. This is not a cruel child - just one who has trouble accepting my growing old.My heart aches.

[nashville_brook]

29. hugs! (from one brook to another)

i was adopted by my grandmother and there was plenty i wished she *couldn't* do when i was at The Age.

she obsessed on being older than "all the other mothers." but truth be told, her age/wisdom was her greatest asset.

don't let your heart ache! do what you can, when you can -- and leave the rest so that others can feel needed.

[brook]

32. Thank you

for your kind words. I appreciate them more than I can say. back atcha.

I'm off. Pleasant dreams. New day tomorrow.

[bigbrother05]

38. Call a truce, and go on.

[brook]

47. Yes!

We 'made up" today! I'm walking on clouds!

Thanks for the good thoughts/advice.

[FreedomAngel82]

30. That was such a

wonderful video.

[goclark]

31. You will never know how much that meant to me at this moment

Bookmarked and deeply appreciated.

[wisteria]

33. It is very moving! n/t

[Hatalles]

35. For those hesitant to click... it's not sad!

It's bittersweet! Makes you feel all warm and mushy inside. =)

[mia]

37. Thank you.

I was meant to see this today. My parents deserve a lot more attention from me.

[Sapphire Blue]

39. Another kick!

[rasputin1952]

42. I think this could use another kick...

[Sapphire Blue]

43. and one more...

[Moosepoop]

44. Now I'm bawling like a baby.

My Dad has just been diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus. A CAT scan last week showed that the cancer has already spread to his stomach and lymph nodes, and possibly his bones. He's always been thin, and has lost about 35 pounds in the last couple of months. It's pretty much established that this will be his last Christmas, and the focus is on pain management rather than a cure.

We lost Mom to cancer 18 years ago, and our oldest sister nine years ago.
Facing Dad's ordeal now is really hard for the remaining three of us, but I think Dad is taking it better than we are. The hardest part for him is the idea of being a "burden" on us, and less than the "Superman" that he's always been. So many of the things touched on in the video apply to him and to us.

It made me cry, and it will again, but it's a beautiful, beautiful film and I thank you so much for putting it up here.

[malaise]

45. I too cried when I watched it

as I do miss my parents and my kid sister at this time. I sent it to all my friends and to a doctor who specializes in geriatric medicine. Contrary to the freepers, Christmas is about family to my clan, so it is oh so appropriate to remember those we love and to take time out to visit some old folks for the holidays.

This is easily the most moving video I've seen all year.

[welshTerrier2]

49. that's the big stuff

thank you !!

[Sapphire Blue]

50. kick