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Thursday, October 14, 2021

Today I am the Luckiest Girl on the Face of the Earth!

 My dad died last night. 

That is not why I am lucky.  I am lucky because I got to spend 50 years with the original girl dad.  For those new to my story, I am the youngest of four girls. He was proud to be our dad and I never once thought that he was disappointed to not have any boys.  People asked him all the time how he handled it.  Even though he had to build himself a shower in the basement and threatened to go to Ireland on multiple occasions, he always brushed off comments with a quick wit and charm.   I will remember him being at my track meets holding my Holly Hobbie sleeping blanket while I was high jumping so I wouldn't have to be cold one second longer than necessary.  When I gave birth to Colin and we started getting visitors, he came over to hold my hand.  I asked him if he wanted to see the baby, and he said he would get to that, but he wanted to make sure that everything was okay with his own baby.  My dad could fix anything. MacGyver could have learned a thing or two from him.    He could make anything, and if he didn't know how, he would figure it out.   I once stopped by while I was living at school and asked him if he could make me a table for my fish tank.  Before I went back, I had the perfect table that was made out of old cabinet doors and a 2x4.  It was painted white and even had a shelf for the food and accessories.  I assumed that every house had a Shopsmith and a basement full of power tools.  

I could fill 50 posts with stories of my dad, but he is not the only reason I am lucky.  Over the last year I have been spending a lot of time with my parents as we have been navigating this experience.  This time, while devastating, has also been a great gift.  I have always known my mom was a force of nature who has non stop energy and never sits down.  She has shown amazing grace under pressure and patience and gentleness that simply cant be put into words.  Her remarkable generosity of spirit and kindness is an example that I will strive to live up to.  

Finally, I have three wonderful sisters.  We have not always seen eye to eye, but no matter what, they have always been my three best friends.  I am so fortunate to have spent my life with these strong women and to have them to lean on now.  We each have our strengths that have come together to form a formidable team.  If only one of us had gone into healthcare, this might have been a smoother ride, but one man has never had more love and attention showered on him as he has made this transition.  

All of us, the original six, are a team.  When you get one of us, you get all of us, whether you are prepared for that or not.  One of our leaders is gone, but the lessons left behind will never be lost.  The six of us have grown to 20 with new additions along the way.  We are surrounded by love and support and gentle kindness of spirit.  I know that we will make my dad proud as we continue to knock 'em stiff.  

1 comment:

Susan said...

Just beautiful!❤️