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Memories of Those Lost but Still Loved
- Thread starter SillyOldBear
- Start date
Hi my dad passed away a long time ago. I still see him when I close my eyes. His smiling face and his cap on his head. Dressed always in his suit. He travelled a lot for work and he would come home and have a funny story to tell us. He would have everyone laughing. I never saw him sad . When I was a child he would hold my hand when bringing me to school. We always went to the sweet shop and he let me pick out some sweets. He was always my hero. He never got mad at me. I still miss him and he leaves an emptiness in my families heart. He had a big furneral and I learned that he was very well loved by others. After his death I heard he gave money to many people. He was a kind man and always happy. I miss him and i still remember him every day. Dad until we meet again. If I had a wish I would wish for him to be alive again and too his grandchildren.
When I first left home for good, I moved out of state. I was still only a 3 1/2 hour drive away so I came home often. It never failed that every time I walked in the door at the beginning of a visit, my dad would be standing at the end of the hall, waiting to greet me. As the years passed, he got smaller, and grew more frail, but never failed to be the first thing I'd see when I walked in the door. It is one of my favorite memories of my father. I miss him so much.
Today I was reminded of my friend Al, who at the age of 80 passed away on Oct 15 of this year. I was looking for a YouTube video to watch and I saw one for Norbert, a little white dog. As I watched it, I remember how Al would crack up laughing every time he talked about a Norbert video. He would say, "I don't know why, but I love that little guy."
Thinking of my mother and the things she did to make Christmas special for us. She did what she could. You had to leave us. Why did Alzheimers and dementia take you from us earlier than necessary? I hope you know, we kept you out of the old person's home as per your wishes and loved you so much Mom. You loved us too, I know you did.
Christmas brings up so many happy memories of my grandparents, great aunts and both my parents (despite our incredible dysfunctionalities) ....Christmas's at our house of getting and decorating the tree with my dad and the careful placing of the tinsel, , my mother's Christmas ribbon butter cookies and pies, time spent at my paternal grandmother's where all of us gathered for a phenomenal feast and lazy hours working on a jigsaw puzzle with my grandmother sharing the hilarious stories of her life....as they are all gone now...it is bittersweet to have these memories live on in me and as the last of the line of our family realizing they will end with me....but I will always cherish them.
I want to remember my friends Ernie and Helen. Helen passed several years ago. She was about 94. I met Helen and Ernie at my church. Helen was always a lady. She always had a sparkle in her eyes. At least until near blindness and deafness shut her off from the world. Ernie survived around 3 years w/o her. They had been married 70 years when she died. Ernie was a WWII vet who loved his country immensely (USA). He died on May 7 of this year. While I miss them, in many ways it is a relief. He was lost w/o Helen. He was housebound due to age. I would visit every couple of weeks. The visits were great. I learned so much about his generation. He once told me that his and Helen's marriage lasted because they put God first, then themselves, then the kids. So many say to put the kids first. But if your life is not in order, how can you truly love and care for kids. Anyway, I miss them both. Ernie used to keep a baseball bat by his front door in case he needed to defend himself. So, in his memory, I went out and bought one and named it Ernie. Helen and Ernie are together again. And, thankfully, don't have to deal with this messed up world anymore.
I'm so sorry, Gonz. I know that doesn't make anything better but I always feel your pain (and love) for Jessica.