Lessons From My Father… Revisited

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On July 17th, 2008, I returned from work on a regular day excited about spending the evening with my husband and my Dad. We were going to finish some shopping we had planned at The Home Depot.  You see, my husband and I had just bought our first home together and it was my Dad’s first time getting to see it.  My Dad was very excited to help me find the perfect ceiling fan for our living room and probably 10,000 other things we NEEDED.

When I came home my husband was there and he thought my Dad was taking a nap.  Odd timing, but since he was a pilot and kept strange hours it wasn’t completely out of the ordinary.  I was disappointed and frustrated that he was sleeping and not excitedly waiting for me to return. Eventually I got annoyed enough to decide to wake him up.

That was the day my Dad never woke up.

The Worst Moment of My Life

Even now, 8 years later I can still remember every distinct moment of that afternoon as if it happened yesterday.  The terror.  The disbelief.  The phone calls I had to make to my sister and my mother.  The gift of having one last day with him and knowing I got to say good night and I love you one last time is the only silver lining.  It was single handedly one of the worst moments in my entire life.  One that no words can describe, or at least not by me.

The only day that comes close to that one, is the day I had to go home to Kentucky to tell my Grandmother that Dad was gone.  He was an only child and my Grandfather had passed away nearly 20 years earlier.  The love of her life and, to my knowledge, the only boy she had ever kissed.  She loved those men more than I’ve seen any woman love another.  I knew it was going to be too much to bear, and within less than four months of my Dad passing, she died of what can only be described as a broken heart.

When I spoke at my father’s eulogy, I recounted the key lessons he taught me that I hoped to teach my kids.  I did not have children of my own yet and outside of being upset about losing time with my Dad, I was most upset that my children would never get to experience him as a Grandfather.  He would have been an excellent Grandpa.

My son was given my father’s name for his middle name.  He looks so much like him with his bright blue eyes and slightly crooked smile.  I look at him and truly know that my Dad is looking down on us smiling.

Lessons From My Father

Since that time, I have been blessed with three gorgeous children; two little girls and one little boy.  My son was given my father’s name for his middle name.  He looks so much like him with his bright blue eyes and slightly crooked smile.  I look at him and truly know that my Dad is looking down on us smiling.

I feel like I have been doing a pretty good job of sharing lessons from my father with my sweet babies and stories that help them know who he was.  But these days who I think of quite often is my Grandmother.  Even 61 years with my Dad simply was not enough time.  As a mother, we do everything we can to love and protect our children and at the end of the day there is no “finish line” for our job.  So today I want to pay tribute to my Dad, who never got to be a grandparent here on earth, and to my Grandma Peg.  One of the key lessons I learned from her is to, “Each morning ask to do my best today, and at night ask to do even better tomorrow.”

Who are you remembering today? What lessons did that person teach you that you will pass along to your children?

Contributing Sister Site and Author

About {Author}

Julia is co-founder of Atlanta Area Moms Blog and works full time in retail as a buyer. She and her husband are both originally from Louisville, Kentucky, and moved here with their jobs in 2008. They have been together since the summer before Julia’s Senior year in college and are staunchly house divided when basketball season comes around for UK vs. UL! They have three children together {two girls, one boy} and recently moved to the East Cobb area. Julia loves spending time outside and enjoys jogging, cycling, and playing with her family. To contact Julia, email her at julia (at) atlmomsblog (dot) com.