Gus has passed up to The Heavyside Layer

Some of you may not know me personally enough to know that my pop passed away this past week.And some of you may have read my previous blogs and know that I was in a community theatre production of CATS this past summer.But what a lot of people don't know is that I based that performance on my pop.
"Asparagus/Gus the Theatre Cat" is an old cat who sings a song at the beginning of Act II. His paws shake from palsy. My dad had Parkinson's as well as Alzheimers and serious coronary diseases. When I had to reach down and make Gus real to the audience I thought of my pop. There were people who said that the song gave them goosebumps when I sang and I made some people cry. (No it wasn't from my singing --- I hope). Friends told me that was the role I was meant to play.When Gus is finish singing he basically walks off stage to die.
What is now playing through my mind is the short amount of time I had left with my pop after CATS ended this summer. He had been disabled for almost thirty years and spent the past five and a half years in a nursing home. There hasn't been a time since my senior year in high school when I didn't see and know my pop as being sick. He had been hospitalized numerous times as I was growing up as a child, and there were numerous times as an adult when we thought "this is it...he is going." only to have him somehow recover. I am grateful for those times.
But this past January, he was hospitalized again with pneumonia. This time he admitted he didn't bounce back like he usually did. My mom has known since May he was wasn't doing well. And then last week we had a family care meeting for him. Within 24-48 hours he went from being coherent and lucid to being incoherent and in pain. He had fallen and broken his hip and we decided on hospice for his final care and to keep him comfortable. That was Friday and he died on Monday. I am glad to say that Saturday was a good day for him and everyone got their chance to say goodbye and let go. And even though we were expecting it, it still came too soon.
My pop was a simple and great man and I love him dearly and will miss him immensely. But he is in a better place now and he isn't in pain. To use a line from CATS, he is now "up, up, up past the Russel Hotel, up, up, up, up to the heavyside layer".

I'm so excited . . . and I can't hide it.

I called down to WDW today to update my DME information for my arrival at MCO. While I was calling, I also called to update my reservation to request an inner courtyard view room at the WL. The CM was helpful to put all my reservation under the same phone number to make it easier when I arrive. That was very thoughtful. I realize that this mini-vacation is real and is happening soon. I just can't wait.