This is a more personal post than I usually write, but I needed it today.
Fifteen years ago this week my father passed away. Wow, seeing that in writing is crazy. Fifteen years!!! It seems like yesterday. Every year during this week I try to fight off the memories and sadness, and every year it gets the best of me. I tried today, ended up with a migraine. Thank goodness for a hubby that understands and will take the reigns with the kids whenever I need him to.
So I decided not to fight it. Instead I am going to celebrate him. I'm writing this blog post to remember him. To remember the things I remember about him. And maybe those of you who know me, but never knew him, will understand him better from my memories.
This is a drawing I did of him five years ago to help me cope with this week.
1. He was born in England, and even after living in America for most of his adult life, he still loved his tea and drank it at the same times every day.
2. My friends loved his British accent. They would call my house and hope he'd answer just to hear it.
3. He loved the most disgusting foods. Liver and onions, kidneys ugh. Now that I think about it....he did seem to love eating organs. Ewww. Thank goodness my mom would cook something else for me on those nights.
4. He loved video games. Many a days I'd come home from school to find him in my room playing my nintendo.
5. He wore boat shoes all the time. No socks, all year round.
6. He loved our dogs. Supposedly we only had them for me. But they were really HIS dogs.
7. He had artistic talent, but never did anything with it. Probably why he pushed me to do something with mine.
8. He had a look that would turn you to stone when he was mad. I was a very good kid because of that look.
9. But he would never have laid a hand on me. Gentle to the core.
10. He had a habit of leaving the last cookie in the box for two weeks, then when someone finally couldn't take it anymore and would eat it he'd be mad that it was gone.
11. He loved taking care of our pool in Arizona. He'd mutter about it but he was out there messing with it all day long. He also played with the sprinklers constantly.
12. He loved playing sports. He and I would go play basketball and racquetball all the time. He played football (soccer) as a youngster. He looked athletic even as he got older.
13. My brother looks so much like him. I wonder if he realizes just how much. My son looks a heckuva lot like him too.
14. He wore polo shirts a lot. Never t-shirts, they always had a collar.
15. He looked really nice in a tux.
16. He always made up these funny rhymes. One I remember so well. Peter Piper picked his nose and rolled it in a ball, he rolled it thick, he rolled it thin, and flicked it down the hall. His mother who was passing by, caught it neatly in the eye.
17. He would not have been happy with my choice to get married at 19. But he really would've adored my husband, I know it.
18. He was a terrible dancer. Like he was going to do the George Burns soft shoe, then just didn't. Never stopped him though.
19. He died at age 49 from a defect in his heart.
20. He was loved and is missed and will never be forgotten.
Of course I could never put all my memories of him in a list...but this was a start. :)
I love you, Dad.
