Saturday, September 22, 2018
I have so many great memories of my dad.
When I announced to my parents that I was expecting my son, my dad just lit up. He was so excited to meet the little one, he seen my uncle Gerald and aunt Wendy in the same restaurant and before I could say a thing he ran over and told them the news that he’d be a grandad again soon. He was practically giddy.
As soon as that little boy was born he was attached to grandpas lap. They constantly played games and it showed me another amazing part of my dad I never knew, how amazing and childlike he himself could be.
They played a game where as soon as my dad would walk in the door DJ would steal his hat and run around the house “hiding” and grandpa without a note of annoyance or pause would take off right after him saying “who stole my hat!” and theyd laugh and chase one another around the house for hours.
My dad and mom always came over for Sunday night dinner, and the evenings were always full of laughter and fun, DJ, Leah, Liam, and Hannah running around causing havoc. Dad never flinched, he loved seeing the kids being happy.
I picked my dad up one night after he’d been to the legion visiting with my mom, he’d had a few to drink and I was taking him home. He laughed and joked, poked fun at me almost the whole way but he took a few serious moments as well.
He told me he was proud of the man I chose to be my partner and that he was thankful for the way he treated me and our kids. He told me he was so happy to have more grandchildren that he could play and cause mischief with and he went on about how fun life was with having all his grandkids and that he loved them.
He also spoke of my mother that night, of how he missed her and how much he loved her and wanted to be with her all the time. It was a rare moment as he was a private man but I loved being able to see a little of what had been going through his head at the time.
These are just some of the memories that I hold tight, that help take a little bit of the pain away.
I take comfort in knowing the last time I seen my father alive, I gave him a hug, told him I loved him. And that I’d see him later.
