Found this in my Google Drive
Found this in my Google Drive and just had to share it.
December 31st, the last day of the year. For me this has probably been one of the longest days of this year because today, my Dad passed away at 2:10 in the morning. So I had to get my butt out of the cozy, warm bed I had just fallen deeply asleep in - sleep's embrace was slow today even though I was physically spent from three days of watching him suffer - get dressed (in my pjs) and go back out into the bitter cold to say one last goodbye to the man that God, in His providence, chose to be one of the people who helped mold me into the woman I am today. Not the easiest assignment in my life for sure. And of course, there was the paperwork that needed signing too.
Cancer is an ugly disease that steals you away so you're barely recognizable. It beats you up inside (and sometimes outside) and at nearly 88 years old Dad's body just had no way to fight that battle. I think he knew it too. He had steadily lost weight this year until he was only about 120 pounds. But, who can blame him. If he was diagnosed sooner would he have been able to endure the necessary treatment, would he put his wife through the pain of seeing him go through all that only to lose the battle in the end. He lived a good, long and mostly happy life and was blessed with two great loves - the first for 46 years with Mom and the second for 18 years. Many people don't even experience that once in a lifetime.
He was a good, humble and kind man with a bit of pepper thrown in the mix at times too. And stubborn, you better believe it! But, he was definitely the last of a dying breed. He honored his wives and put his children first before himself (when we were kids). My Mom (who passed 20 years ago this last Thanksgiving) was always his first priority. When she wanted a swimming pool, he got a second job so we could afford it. If she wanted it, he tried to provide it. He worked for 30 years at General Motors AND would come home and work at home - fixing cars, doing home repairs and remodels that Mom wanted, and on some occasions being the "wait til your Dad gets home" Dad (nah just kidding, Mom would say that and nothing would ever happen). After Mom's passing when he met and married his new wife, she became the center of his universe. Cuz Dad was like that. Making his woman happy made him happy, and I'm glad he was happy. He was a hard-working, loyal and honorable man.
I remember when he would come home from work at 3:30 in the afternoon during the summer and kick us out of the pool so he could float in his chair and have an ice cold Stroh's beer. Or, when I was very young he would lay down on the living room floor and say Gigi walk on my back - I loved that. Or, he would take my hands and put my feet on top of his feet and walk around with me on his feet. And in those days, we had dinner at 5:00 pm and everyone had to be home for dinner. He would swirl his buttermilk in his glass and laugh as I wrinkled my nose and told him how nasty that stuff was. Sometimes, because he had dentures, he'd push that bottom plate out to make us laugh. Those are some of my favorite memories.
He was a very handy guy, a jack of all trades really. I remember we had one of those stand alone stereo/ record players kind of like this one (pic didn’t upload but you know what I’m talking about right?).
Mom thought it took up too much room and apparently it was the stylish thing to do - have it installed in the wall. So Dad, being the pleaser he was, cut the holes out in the living room wall, took that dang thing apart and installed that sucker in the wall - speakers, record player, radio and all and it worked great!
As we all get ready to ring in the new year and say so long to Dad, I'm on my couch, exhausted from this particular day, looking back on years gone by. Years that keep going by faster and faster! I mean, did we skip October altogether?! And although I'm not a "New Year's Resolution" kind of gal, this New Year I'm determined to find positives in every day. I will do my damnedest not to whine and I will let go of any millstone attempting to pull me under. So that as I lay my head down in the evening and hopefully, by God's great grace, raise it up again in the morn, I will thank my Maker and praise Him for the blessings, big and small, and all the God-winks He gives me along the way. The sunrises and sunsets, the sweet sound of the birds on a sunny day, the showy dance of the starlings at the dawn and sunset, any glimpse of creation's beauty really or simply the roof over my head and I will sing praises to the One who provides them and lights my path until I go home where He has prepared a place for me on golden streets and I reunite with those who've gone ahead.
Happy New Year (pic didn’t upload, oh well)!
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