Covid happened right after my dad died
Item Information
Title
Covid happened right after my dad died
Description
I just sent another item for the archives that was more upbeat: projects I've been making at home, much like my students, while we're "shut out" of our campus art studios. Thinking about how folks in the future might think about this "covid time", I thought I'd add this story about my dad. (Photo attached is of him at El Tiradito [The Wishing Shrine] in downtown Tucson, about 2 weeks before he died. He regularly visited and cared for this place where people offer prayers, memories, and shrines for loved ones.) I feel very fortunate that, while I wish it didn't happen until years later, my dad died 2/19/20 right before covid was being widely discussed or prepared for. I feel fortunate in that my dad lived in Tucson, AZ (my hometown) and I was able to see and be with him, his wife, and his brother (traveling from Philadelphia) when he died. As I hear the news, about people not being able to be with their loved ones during their exit from this life, I can't imagine. I just can't imagine the sadness of that denial and how hard it would be for all involved. Had my dad-- whose good health only turned in the 4-5 weeks before his death-- suffered his issues just a couple weeks later, I wouldn't have been able to fly out to Arizona from WI, travel on public transit from Phoenix to Tucson, nor would have been allowed to be with him while he died. I keep thinking of all the folks who didn't have the "good fortune" of this timing. While I was able to be with him, our planned memorial service has been postponed until further notice-- maybe 2021? His widow and I talk about "sorting through his treasures" and "organizing" things but I don't know when I'll be able to go back to Tucson and help. And I have other family members in AZ and CA (ones I'm very close to but who aren't connected to my dad) that I don't know when I'll be able to visit either. So the inability to travel and be together has affected much in my life-- but not as much as others, I know. It's disappointing and inconvenient, but I remain blessed. Anyway, this is my biggest "covid" story as of May 19, 2020, and I thought I'd enter it (and my other story) as I "sign off" for the summer break. I hope it remains my most significant story in terms of direct impact on my personal life. So much is up in the air these days and there are many worries. Big hopes I can be with family before much longer, and bigger hopes for a vaccine to this nasty virus!
Subject
Coronaviruses
Family
Travel
Social distance
Type
Still image
Format
Color photograph
Identifier
COVID_UWP_030.jpg
Creator
Lisa Marie Barber
Publisher
University of Wisconsin - Parkside
Title
Covid happened right after my dad died
Description
I just sent another item for the archives that was more upbeat: projects I've been making at home, much like my students, while we're "shut out" of our campus art studios. Thinking about how folks in the future might think about this "covid time", I thought I'd add this story about my dad. (Photo attached is of him at El Tiradito [The Wishing Shrine] in downtown Tucson, about 2 weeks before he died. He regularly visited and cared for this place where people offer prayers, memories, and shrines for loved ones.) I feel very fortunate that, while I wish it didn't happen until years later, my dad died 2/19/20 right before covid was being widely discussed or prepared for. I feel fortunate in that my dad lived in Tucson, AZ (my hometown) and I was able to see and be with him, his wife, and his brother (traveling from Philadelphia) when he died. As I hear the news, about people not being able to be with their loved ones during their exit from this life, I can't imagine. I just can't imagine the sadness of that denial and how hard it would be for all involved. Had my dad-- whose good health only turned in the 4-5 weeks before his death-- suffered his issues just a couple weeks later, I wouldn't have been able to fly out to Arizona from WI, travel on public transit from Phoenix to Tucson, nor would have been allowed to be with him while he died. I keep thinking of all the folks who didn't have the "good fortune" of this timing. While I was able to be with him, our planned memorial service has been postponed until further notice-- maybe 2021? His widow and I talk about "sorting through his treasures" and "organizing" things but I don't know when I'll be able to go back to Tucson and help. And I have other family members in AZ and CA (ones I'm very close to but who aren't connected to my dad) that I don't know when I'll be able to visit either. So the inability to travel and be together has affected much in my life-- but not as much as others, I know. It's disappointing and inconvenient, but I remain blessed. Anyway, this is my biggest "covid" story as of May 19, 2020, and I thought I'd enter it (and my other story) as I "sign off" for the summer break. I hope it remains my most significant story in terms of direct impact on my personal life. So much is up in the air these days and there are many worries. Big hopes I can be with family before much longer, and bigger hopes for a vaccine to this nasty virus!
Subject
Coronaviruses
Family
Travel
Social distance
Type
Still image
Format
Color photograph
Identifier
COVID_UWP_030.jpg
Creator
Lisa Marie Barber
Publisher
University of Wisconsin - Parkside
Collection
Citation
Lisa Marie Barber, “Covid happened right after my dad died,” University of Wisconsin-Parkside Digital Collections, accessed December 25, 2024, https://archives.uwp.edu/items/show/5662.