One Year Ago Today; October 17, 2011

On this day a year ago I received the phone call that I never wanted to hear. Although we had expected it any day since my Daddy’s heart was so weak after had suffered a heart attack and a stroke on April 15, 2000, relearned how to walk, drive, dress himself, survived 7 bypass surgery, bouts of congestive heart failure, and a pacemaker put in; it didn’t make it any easier when Jackie called me to break the news that our Daddy had passed away. I think it was harder because we had lost our brother not even a year before?

After I got the news and as I was driving to be with my Mom, sister, and brothers; I started thinking about all the things that we had done throughout the summer. I remembered Jackie and I had taken my Mom and Daddy to Greensburg to see the town that had been almost completely destroyed by a tornado.

Or the time that I took them to Joshua’s plays,

or the time that we took them to Illinois for my Daddys’ last visit there not even a month before his passing.

I felt very lucky that I was able to spend some quality time with my Daddy before he went to Heaven to be with our brother Dean. I hope you all enjoy some of the photos here as I did when I went through them. I loved my Daddy and felt like he could do anything;

and me in my insecure way wondered if he was ever proud of me, but deep down when I look at this photo I know he was.

I was truly blessed to have such a good man as my Daddy and can only hope when I grow old that my children think the same about me. I still remember his favorite song, “Chain of Love”. I try to remember the words of the song when I help other people out like my Daddy always did, “don’t let the chain of love end with you.” I love you all and hope that you hug your Daddy’s extra long today if they are near you or give him a call to tell him how much you love him.

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