Well, hello, my friends, and welcome to the Live Inspired podcast Monday morning moments with John O'Leary.

I record these so that you and I can begin our days and our weeks in awe and on fire with a burst of

inspiration. And in the midst of the complexities of life, what we often need most is a reminder

that there is a reason for hope, that there is a reason for inspiration. Recently, I needed that reminder and I received it from someone who may have needed the

reminder even more than I did.

Let me explain.

As a result of repeated falls several weeks ago, my amazingly tenacious dad, and you all know

that I love my dad, my amazingly tenacious dad required a total

shoulder replacement. At any age, it's a difficult surgery to recover from and to endure,

but it's 75. And after three decades with Parkinson's disease, recovering has proven even more difficult than we expected.

After a few days in the hospital from surgery, my dad was brought home. And even with two people

who love him dearly, assisting him with his transfers, with his feedings, and was supporting

him throughout the day, the intensity of the care proved more

than we could have imagined. Not only was he not improving, he was simply no longer safe to be at home.

So we made the difficult, painful decision to move dad out of his home so that he could

recover at a skilled nursing facility.

He would receive daily in-person therapy and a trained caregiver to support him throughout the day.

Although it was the right thing to do, it was also incredibly hard to share with dad that he would

have to leave his home for at least a month.

As we prepared dad to leave, a gentleman from the pest company shared with my mom that there

was a family of raccoons living up in her attic. He went on to share that these raccoons, incidentally,

were generous. They were generous enough not only to have an

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