I'm not a huge Dr. Phil fan. In fact, I'm not sure why I even watch the show - which is not often. There must be something better to do. But. One time I did watch, he was counseling a woman who had lost her daughter to murder and he asked her if she wanted to celebrate her daughter's life, why was she focusing on the moment of her death? She had a breakthrough, and decided not to commit suicide after all - yada yada yada - another victory for the bald "tell it like it is" Oprah protege from Texas.

As annoying as Dr. Phil is, I keep trying to heed his cousel. Especially these days. I cannot seem to stop thinking about this week last year. I call it "hell week". It was one year ago today that we all flew down to Florida, as my father had stopped breathing during the night and was sedated on a ventilator. I was due to go down to Florida that day anyway, but everyone came with me - Sarah, Martha and Robert. On Friday it is one year ago that my father came out of sedation and had all his faculties and it was the last day I saw him alive. On Sunday, early in the morning, is the one-year anniversary of his death.

We are all getting together on Saturday at Martha's house, just to be together. As hard as it is, I really want to stay away from the memories of "hell week" and instead celebrate my father's life and how far we have come since that awful day. We have really come a long way, especially my mother. I'm very proud of her and how well she has held up, the new things she has learned, the new friends she has made and how well she is getting along.