Wednesday, October 27, 2010
11:26 PM | 
Posted by
Amethist Flame
It's the end of October already and Samhain/Halloween is upon us. This Time of year has been pretty tough for me since my dad passed away in 2008. He was a big part of my life and I was not ready for him to go. Really though, when is anyone ever ready to lose one of their parents? I've been reflecting on the impact my dad had on my life a lot the past couple weeks and remembering some of the silliest things, things that seem really insignificant when they're happening, but things that stick in the mind for some reason none the less...
My dad LOVED to get a rise out of us, just about any way he could so he'd do little things all the time to see if he could make someone holler "Gross DAD". I yelled those words more times than I care to count when I was younger and oh how he'd laugh when he'd get me to say those two seemingly insignificant words. Why is it those moments that seem to stick in the mind now though... Who knows.
I spent a lot of time with my dad when I was a kid. He participated in my youth group and went with me on many adventures as result. When we were camping in Tennessee, I remember him climbing up a cliff and doing a swan dive into the water below. He loved the end of the year ball games at my school and he helped me fill a cooler with Water Balloons to take to school for our yearly water fight too.
When dad had "the accident", a lot changed in him. I remember walking in to the emergency room and seeing him and nearly fainting (I don't handle seeing blood very well). We ALL waited two weeks to see him wake up after that. He was never quite the same after his accident but we were grateful just to have him still with us.
On my wedding day, even though it was very difficult for him to do it, he walked me down the aisle. It was so moving to have him there with me on that day. After I got married, we didn't see as much of each other. I moved to Texas with my husband and Mom and Dad moved back to Michigan. He couldn't hear very well, but when ever I called, I made sure to tell him I loved him even if I couldn't have much of a conversation with him.
I got to visit my parents in Michigan a few times. The last time I was there, we had a nice family picnic with many of the cousins visiting. I was there to help my mom take care of my grandmother who was declining pretty rapidly, but it was nice to have so much of the family getting together too. I probably even got egged into saying those magical words "Gross Dad" at least one more time.
Grandma passed away within a few days after I returned home from that trip. I knew Dad was in pretty bad shape then, I didn't know it would be the last time I got to spend time with him though. When I found out Dad was sick, I didn't even really have time to decide if I was going to be able to go back again. I don't think anyone was sure how bad it was, till he was already gone.
These days, I find myself laughing at memories from my childhood, my dad's silly fart jokes etched forever in my mind. I don't know if this time of year will ever be the same for me. I am grateful for the time I had with him though. I see a lot of him in me now, and that's ok with me. He will always be in my heart.
I love you DAD!
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