Friday, July 13, 2012

Goodbye



I have been a nurse for 12 years, I guess that is why I am fine with being blunt.  
Sometimes things just are, no point in mincing words. 

A few weeks ago my Dad died.

No one was surprised, many people explained how it was for the best as he was so ill and not himself for several years.

I guess they are right, but he is still gone. 


We had a good funeral service and this is what I said:

Psalm 30 tells us sorrow may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning. Our night of sorrow has lasted many years but there will still be a morning of joy. 

I saw an older man the other day at the gas station carefully lifting the hose to drain every last drop of gas that he had paid for into his tank.  I realized then that my dad will be with me in so many different circumstances, in big and small ways every day, and that is my joy.

When someone can’t read my handwriting…
he is with me. 

When I can’t read my handwriting…
            he is with me.

When I hear country music…
he is with me. 

When I see a water colour painting…
he is with me.

When I watch my kids running around with red cheeks, kicking a soccer ball…
he is with me. 

When I see R’s love of reading…
he is with me. 

When K’s sweaty hair curl out from under  a baseball cap…
he is with me. 

When L runs up to her dad after her bath with her wet hair and a brush…
he is with me. 

When I fill out a crossword puzzle in block letters with the words mostly misspelled…
he is with me. 

When I hear a volkswagen bug with no muffler…
he is with me. 


When I drive the long way through all the back roads and call it a short cut…
he is with me. 

When I have a fascinating conversation with a preschooler…
he is with me. 

When I quietly hope the underdog will win..
he is with me. 


And almost every day, he will be with me when someone says to me or my children
“Are your eyes really that blue?”
And I will answer “Yep, they are just like my dad’s.”