<p>“Spend time with your dad AND your mom. As your dad declines every day, she needs someone she can talk to, share her sorrow and worries, prepare for the inevitable end, help her with the many loose ends that need to be tied, and what to do once your dad is gone.”</p>
<p>I agree with this. Both of your parents need you at this time. Your mom needs you as much as your dad needs you. You can always return to college, but if you miss this opportunity to be a support to your parents during this difficult time, it will never come again. </p>
<p>If you take the time off and are there for your parents, you’ll also learn that you’ll be giving a gift to yourself as well as to your parents. There is nothing more intimate than being with someone as they die. There are lessons and blessings in this that you’ll use for the rest of your life. My perspective comes from being there for two friends as they died. I wasn’t able to do this with my parents – dad died suddenly after a long illness, mom dropped dead during a relative period of health – and I regret not being able to be there for them though it wasn’t my fault.</p>