My father is very much on my mind today. Today, we're gathering to remember him twenty years after he passed away. I believe he was one of the finest men who ever lived in the entire world. I really do!
"Well done, good and faithful servant." Matthew 25:21
Would that we all are deserving of that amazing statement.
Thanks, Dad.
I hope some of you will share stories about your dads today........I'll see you later tonight.
Z
Sunday, January 26, 2014
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16 comments:
My dad died 15 years ago. He was 86.5 years old and living on his own. In fact, he was out grocery shopping on the Tuesday before he went home to the Lord late on Saturday. We should all be so blest!
I was Dad's medical proxy and had to make "the tough decision." But, actually, the decision wasn't all that tough. Dad was very specific with me and with his primary care physician exactly what measures he wanted taken and which he did not want taken.
Dad outlived Mom by some 10 years. During that 10 years, I really got to know my Dad. Had Dad predeceased Mom, I'd never have found out what a great guy Dad was.
I miss Dad every day.
Z - My dad passed away just about 6 years ago. He was sitting in the living room in his favorie chair. We were so blessed that he wasn't ill or in a nursing home. He was 95 years old. My mom was in the kitchen. He wouldn't have wanted to be sick or in the hospital. He was a good person and very loving to his family.
My mother lived four more years without him.
Awesome that loved ones are gathering 2o years later to honor him and sharing laughs and tears, though I'll bet you think about him often. I lost my father almost 24 years ago, when he passed a little more than a year after I lost my little brother to a drunk driver. I still have my other 3 siblings (my mother has since joined my dad and little bro) and we gather when we can to share stories and memories of them all. Have a blessed day!
Wonderful to hear all of this...I think memorable, great dads make great people, so I'm not surprised at any of your comments.
Sue, My dad's passing was very similar, though he did have health problems.
See you much later on...
z
I grew up without a father. So probably due in part to that....I try and be the best father I can be to my two daughters.
@CI:
Sorry to hear that. So who was your ideal role model growing up then? An Uncle? Grandfather?
Grandfather, definitely. I was lucky to have him with us util about 4 years ago. The only other close family member who also served in uniform [for the last couple of generations anyway], so it's little wonder I had a close bond with him.
@CI:
Great. I too had a Grandfather like that. When I was a kid my Dad was in VA hospitals most of the time recovering from malaria acquired in Asia. Ole Gramps worked at West Point so he was always interesting to be around.
My father died at age 84. It hit me like a ton of bricks because he had become my best friend. Even though he was old, he never lost his wit and understanding of the world around him. I used to write funny letters about our kids to him, and it was several years after he died before I ever wrote another word.
Every now and then, I still want to pick up the telephone and call him to talk to him. I miss him.
After my Dad died, my Mom lived another five years, and died at age 91. It was in those five years that I re-discovered my Mom. She was witty, smart, and would do and say things that surprised all us kids. However, I learned to not call her when Wheel of Fortune was on the air.
We all figured then that our Dad was so dominant a personality that Mom was over-shadowed around the house. Because of that, we didn't really know our Mom until after our Dad passed on. She was some woman, strong and ever faithful to God and family.
I'm reticent to speak of my dad here for fear of hurting the feelings of someone whose dad was not as awesome.
Bob's comment would be similar to mine, except we saw it coming for years.
I got to lead him to Jesus shortly before he died
Dad was a Sergeant in WWII. Walked Italy, France and Germany as Army Infantry. He wrote many letters to Mom those 4 years who was waiting to marry him when he got back to the states after the war.
Told us about Pompeii and the plaster casts of those who were exterminated by the volcano. Outside of that he told us a few funny stories about the war and that a black man had saved his life so he'd have no racism going on in his family.
There were 4 of us kids and when my 1 year older brother and I were the only ones to yet come along, he always asked us what we wanted to do every weekend. We always wanted to go to the airport and watch the planes take off and land.
Off we went. When we were around 8 and 9, he had us down in the basement shooting 22 shorts out of a single shot rifle at cigarette butts from about 30 feet. We got pretty good. We both had a lot of fun with him and tried to stay out of his way by avoiding like heck having the parents finding out what we were up to most of the time. Hard to do since the entire neighborhood universe was full of spies known as other kids mothers.
We didn't do anything THAT bad and as a result survived to tell about it.
I miss him a lot, but I'm glad he isn't around to see the commie loving jelly roll this country has turned into. I'll see you again Dad and we'll have some things to talk about.
SO! I just wrote you all a nice response comment and didn't realize my computer'd kicked me out again; this has been happening a lot lately...so, I 'published' and was asked to sign in! It was GONE.
Let me just write an abbreviated note to you all:
I loved hearing your stories...the stories all tug at my heart and I know I wish I could have met all your fathers...and mothers!
Ed, I've done a post like this every couple of years and have always hesitated but I usually get wonderful comments about dads from commenters who it sounds like didn't have the same great dads we had...commenters will tell us about someone else who was like a father to them, etc.
See CI's, for example.
Believe me, I'm sensitive to your hesitance, and appreciate it but these are wonderful places we can recount our dads and so I think it's a good thing.
My father died in 2009 at the age of 88. All he wanted to do was live longer than his Dad -- and he did so.
My Mom died in 2002 at the age of 80. In retrospect, I was surprised that Dad lasted as long as he did past her -- considering one of my troops recently lost both his grandparents this week. His Grandma died one day of a medical issue. His Grandpa died three days later, with no medical issues.
I know why.
BZ
BZ..must have been a beautiful marriage..yes.
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