My Dad

My father passed away on February 13.  His health had been failing for several years, but I wasn't prepared for him to leave us while I was visiting.  I thought I would go home and assist Mom with care and give some emotional support as well as spend time with my dad.  To be honest, every time I have left him in the past few years, I wondered if I would see him again.  I was scheduled to stay for two weeks.  At around Day Ten, I started to wonder if I shouldn't stay longer.  Things were going downhill fast and I decided to extend my trip.  After discussing options with my husband,  I added another sixteen days to my stay.
     Dad was at home where he wanted to be.  And Mom provided excellent care even though she was emotionally and physically exhausted.  Hospice was wonderful, giving advice for care and offering emotional support.  The last eight days were especially difficult as we watched him grow weaker each day.  He eventually went 10 days without food and 8 days without water before he left us.  It was an experience that left me emotionally and physically depleted, but I wouldn't have traded that month at home for anything.
      My father loved people; I get that from him.  He would strike up a conversation with anyone, anywhere.  I have many memories of teenage boys hanging out with my dad in the garage as he taught them how to fix cars.  Growing up, we had people in and out of our house frequently; from dinner parties, to church parties, to weekend guests; my parents had a lot of friends.
     As a child, one of my favorite games with him was The Interview.  We would sit on the sofa in the living room with our little portable tape player and he would pretend to be a journalist interviewing celebrities.  I was anything from a famous actress or singer to a winning race car driver.  I would love to hear those tapes today.  During junior high, I would stay after school every Tuesday for my allergy shots and walk over to the Ford dealership to catch a ride home with Dad.  This gave me several hours to explore town, go to the library or do odd jobs for the Service Department.  I loved having the opportunity to earn a little cash by filing all of the invoices Dad had saved for me.  When I was older, we had many auto auction "dates".  Dad would take me with him to drive purchased cars back home and I loved having breakfast with him on the road.
     We loved to just sit and talk or reminisce.  One day he asked me if I had had a good childhood.  Certainly there were days when I was angry with my parents for some "unreasonable" rule, but overall I loved my life and the relationship I had with my parents.  I feel very blessed for the Mayberry world I grew up in.  Life was simple and I was taught to work and put my best foot forward.  I learned from example to serve others and I grew in faith as my parents taught me the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I know in the coming days I will feel a real void when I call home and only Mom is there to talk to me.  I know that I will miss his advice and his jokes and his warmth.  In the eyes of the world, he didn't accomplish great things, but to those who knew him he left an indelible mark of goodness on them.  I am grateful to be his daughter.  I love you, Dad.