I guess I finally did it. Moved my dad to hospice, I mean. It’s been… a thing. For years. The dementia, you know? Started with little stuff – forgetting keys, appointments. Then it escalated. Calls from neighbors, paramedics, the police even. My sister and I – we live like, a THOUSAND miles away. More, actually. So it was always me, flying back and forth, trying to sort things out. Him raging on the phone, accusing me of stealing his money, then five minutes later asking if I’d gotten enough sleep. My heart would just… sink. Every. Single. Time. Honestly, it got to the point where every phone call was a dread. The ringtone would literally make my stomach clench. He’d be confused, angry, sometimes just… gone. And I’d be on the other end, trying to make sense of it all, trying to sound calm and reassuring, while inside I was screaming. Like, "Dad, remember? We talked about this! Remember the lady who comes to help? No, she’s not stealing your silver, she’s helping you remember to eat!" That kind of thing. It just felt like I was constantly failing him. Or myself. Maybe both. So, the hospice. It was a long time coming. The doctors, they kept saying it was the best option. More care than we could ever give him, even if we were living there. My sister, she was kind of on board from the start. But me? I fought it. Hard. Felt like giving up. Abandoning him. His last lucid moment, he looked at me and said, "Don't you dare put me in one of those places." And that just… stayed with me. Like a heavy stone. But last week, it was… BAD. Really bad. He fell again. Broke his hip. And in the hospital, he was just… gone. Not even recognizing me. So we made the call. And the weirdest part? The absolute WEIRDEST part, is that I felt this… wave of RELIEF. Not sadness. Not guilt, not immediately anyway. Just this quiet, almost shameful, sense of… peace. Like a weight had been lifted. And I know that sounds awful. I know it does. But it’s true. I feel flat. Empty. But also… lighter. And that makes me feel like a monster, I guess. What kind of daughter feels relieved when her dad goes to hospice? I don't know.