The Pain Of Another Loss

You may (or may not have) noticed that this blog has been silent for a few weeks.

Unfortunately, our family has had to deal with yet another heartbreaking loss.

Just 3 short months after losing my mom, I lost my dad.

He passed away on September 21st.

It was sudden and fast and I still can't believe it.

My mom and dad had been divorced since I was 5, so this was my biological dad.

There's no romanticism about him missing her or dying of a broken heart to blame it on.
 
It was just life.

And sometimes, life just isn't fair.

I might go into details of what happened at some point, but not now.

Right now, I'll just tell you about my dad, and what he meant to me.

My dad loved Christmas and he would decorate the tree until all you could see was sparkle, and he would buy enough gifts to fill a room.  I totally get my love of giving gifts from him!

And when we were little, he would teach my sister and I silly songs while we drove in the car with him.  And it is fun to teach my girls some of those same songs.

And he enjoyed taking us out to nice restaurants and ordering the most expensive things on the menu.  Even when we were kids.  It might seem odd for an eight-year-old to order filet mignon like it was a happy meal, but that was how my dad liked to roll.

And Oh My Gosh, how he LOVED to theme dress for any occasion.  St. Patty’s day was all green, Christmas was all red, and Game day was brown and orange all the way (GO BROWNS!).

I will always remember how happy it made my dad to watch a new western…or ten. We ALWAYS knew those would be on his Christmas wish list!

And my dad had a lot of pride in the fact that he served his country.  He volunteered to go to Vietnam when he was seventeen.

And he was an expert QVC shopper!  Pretty sure they knew him by name...

And my dad was willing to sacrifice to help those he loved, without asking anything in return.

And I will laugh every time I think of how much my dad loved sports and would yell at the TV as if the players could hear him.

And he would give the biggest hugs every time he saw us and tell us how much he loved us.

And spending time with his grandchildren made him the absolute happiest.

These, and a million other little things that make me smile, are the things I will remember about my dad.



But one thing I have learned through all of this loss is that for the rest of us, life goes on.

And so it will.

My dad wouldn't have it any other way. 

Thanks, friends, for staying loyal and continuing to read. 

I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it.

{HUGS}