Let's put this right out there first thing.....the past couple of days have been very difficult for myself, my mom and my entire family. I'd say the only thing that compares to it is when my beloved Aunt Helen passed away several years ago.
So most folks wouldn't be in a very thankful mood.
Me?
Honestly, I am extremely thankful....let me list a few reasons.
-I'm thankful my father passed in a matter of moments...he didn't suffer and he died at home with my mom right by his side.
-I'm thankful that we live less then a mile away from my parents house, I was able to be at the hospital to say my final goodbyes and our pastor was also there within minutes to guide us in a final prayer and to provide us some much needed strength.
-I'm thankful for the fact that my father had previously decided to be an organ donor. The person from the donor agency I spoke to on the afternoon of my fathers passing was fairly certain that his corneas would be able to be harvested. If you're not an organ donor- step up to the plate the next time you get your license renewed and check the organ donor box.
-I'm thankful for my Aunt Betty and my cousin Gail and her husband.....they were able to bring my aunt (my mom's sister) to the house from New Jersey in a matter of hours. Like I've mentioned before-my Aunt Betty is truly a gift from God.
-I am thankful for our family friend Chris Lehman, my mom considers her as part of the family and she was at my mom's side within minutes of hearing about my fathers passing. She is also a very special person-thank you so much for being there for my mom.
-I'm thankful for the ability to not dwell on bad things that have already happened.....I can't change the past but I can have a say on the future. I miss my pop terribly and my mom misses him even more but we have lots of living to do in the future and I'm ready to get to it.
-I'm thankful for memories. Every time I think of my dad....I find myself remembering something we did together and it makes me laugh. Sure, I'm sad...but my old man had a pretty good sense of humor and it would piss him off if he thought we were sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves. After his second heart attack and especially the past few months-he's had some tremendous pain due to his spinal cord collapsing......I don't think I ever heard him complain-he was one tough Irishman. I'm having a ring made with "One Tough Irishman" inscribed on it.....once I put it on-it ain't never coming off.
-I am speaking for my mom here a little bit....but we are thankful for our wonderful family. I couldn't imagine going through this without my wife and kids. If I didn't have my wife to be my rock....man, I don't even want to go there. I can only imagine how my mom feels right now as my dad was her rock.
-I am thankful for a very understanding boss. Rose (my boss) and I have been friends since we were kids and she lost her father during Thanksgiving a number of years ago, so she knows exactly what we are going through.....she has my back and I have hers.....couldn't ask for a better boss-she's good people.
-I'm thankful for all his friends that I've talked to the past two days.....kinda funny, my dad set up an appointment for me at a local service station to pick up some tires for my car on Wednesday- I shared the news of my father's passing with the guys working there (they were friends) and for 15 minutes the 6 or 7 guys at the garage were telling me how many friends he has and what a good guy he was. He sold tires for 50 years in York County to hundreds of service stations and tire wholesalers....he knew a lot of people.
-Finally, I'm thankful for all my friends that have emailed, sent texts and called the last two days. You are all wonderful and I thank you for your kind thoughts. This blog has been good therapy as I enjoy writing out my thoughts...... I know I ain't the next James Joyce, so thanks for bearing with me.
I could go on and on about how thankful I am.....
.....but I think you get the point:-)
till later.
No comments:
Post a Comment