November 7th will always be in my mind as the day my father passed from this life. Such a wonderful man! I love my dad. He has been an inspiration to me and a comfort. Today he died after having a heart attack while playing billiards at the university. At first the doctors were optomistic, but later realized his heart was damaged beyond repair. If he had made it through a surgery, he wouldn't have been the same mentally since his brain had been deprived of oxygen too long.
Mom's decisions were instantaneous with regards to surgery. She talked of my dad's beautiful mind and how she wouldn't take that away from him. She would rather he pass through the veil and do the Lord's work on the other side. It's hard for us, but we know that he was needed on the other side. Somewhere today I was able to gather the strength needed to be there for my mom. Tonight, my daughter has the strength to be there for me. It must be a generational thing.
Dad became an organ and tissue donor and will be cremated sometime this week. We'll have a memorial service for him on Friday most likely. There will probably be hundreds of students and teachers that come. We're talking about some sort of open house format that will be a "Celebration of Life." Joe's aunt did something similar when her husband passed away about four years ago. It was a tasteful and not depressing. The last thing we need that day is to be depressed. As my mom keeps saying, we need to be happy for Dad going on to his "next great adventure" even while we're sad for ourselves. How comforting it is to know that we will be able to see him again one day. Unfortunately for us, it won't be in the blink of an eye like it will be for him.
I'm glad I was here to say my "see you laters" and support my mom. Doing that from Memphis would have been so much harder. I guess there was a greater purpose in my being here with my kids than I initially thought. Maybe it wasn't just for my daughter, but for my sons and my father so they would get to know each other before this day came. I'm grateful they had the opportunity, I just wish it could have been a bit longer.
2 comments:
Holly I'm so glad you're there, too. Your mom appreciates you so much. She said you're a rock.
Aunt Judy
I will always remember your dad as a fun, intelligent, adventurous person. He was a great uncle! Every time we visited he made us feel right at home. I am sure he is already enjoying his next adventure!
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