Full Circle. This First Year Was a Bitch ....

A year.  12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8760 hours, 525600 minutes.  I'm not going to even do the seconds but whichever way you look at it, it's a long fucking time.  It's been a bear of a year.  Head down, focus on what's ahead, and understand that controlling the controllables is all you can do.  Damn.  Indeed an explosion of emotional instability ... I am not cut out for this.  Knowing I have no choice makes it all that more interesting.  "Hey mommy, why are you crying?  Did you hurt yourself or are you thinking about papa?"  Don't worry, Drewy, its just mommy's lack of knowing which way is up  ... cry, laugh, scream ... ?  I couldn't be more grateful for Drew.  She gets me.  As she stands staring at me intently, she knows not to hug me until it's over.  She makes me feel better just being in the room.  She knows this.

For the last few days I've woken up in a mess of sweat and tears before my alarm goes off.  Then as I lay there, I slowly remember the dream I was in a few minutes before.  You're there, ALWAYS.  Whether we're laughing or I even remember yelling at some point, you're there, ALWAYS.  Kind of like my real life.  You were forever in my face, letting me know I was loved and you were there.  Letting me know I screwed up, but you were there.  Letting me know I shouldn't lie to a man who taught others about body work and paint on cars about how mom's car got creamed ... oops!  But you were there.  To say you're "gone" makes me cringe.  Like the kind of cringe you get when you watch someone sing in front of a crowd when they really can't ...   I really hate the word gone when I'm talking about you.  I hate everything that has to do with you not being by our side.  It takes my breath away.

I read something the other day about what you learn when you lose a parent and a couple of the points struck me.  One said that when you lose a parent, you become more affectionate and attached.  Uhhh, not at all what I've experienced.  I pull away when I'm in pain.  Almost completely withdraw.  Everyone else has aches of their own, who wants to hear my shit?  There are only a select few I unload on.  They know who they are.  They're the ones standing with shields and armor next to me at the bar or sitting with me on my couch laughing at nothing.  Best friends anyone could ask for.  The last year would have been even more unendurable without them.  Believe me, I appreciate you even if I don't say it.
The next point was you learn not to waste time.  Learned that, maybe even in the last month, but I've learned it.  Anyone or anything that doesn't measure up can watch the back of me as I leave.  Not worth it.  If I could take back every minute with you I took for granted, I would.  It's just a lesson.
A very tough lesson that unfortunately isn't learned until after the fact.  Ugh.

I am embarking on a new journey shortly and man, do I wish you were here.  You would tell me what to do.  You knew everything.  You would have a ton of jokes, laughing about the what ifs, but I would know if the decision I'm making is right.  I wouldn't question it because I never questioned anything you said.  Ever.  One of the greatest gifts you and mom gave me was security.  In all things.  It's a very strange, eery feeling to know there's only one of you now.  She does a damn good job keeping the security thing in play ... But sometimes I just need you.  A LOT of times, I just need you.

Michael tells me I need to let go of you because you have moved on and I need to move on too.  I don't feel like it.  I'm sorry if I'm keeping you around but I can't let go.  There isn't a day that goes by that I don't feel your being.  It's comfort and I'm not ready to be without it.

It's fascinating to me that a year has gone by (not the good kind of fascinating).  Without you.
That's a gross fucking statement right there.  Without you.  

It takes my breath away.

The Road Continues, Even Without You

Daddy's birthday just passed.  I woke up on August 9 struggling to find my balance.  By balance I mean bringing the part of me that knows I need to start mine and Drew's day, together with the part of me that wants to lay in bed, staring at a blank ceiling, alone.  Well I didn't lay and stare at the ceiling all day but I might as well have.  Completely useless.  I wasn't very productive, that's for damn sure.  There's something so strange about that because what's so different about this day than any other day?  I miss you so much every single second of my existence so August 9 wasn't really new news.  It's the fucking dreaded firsts.  Gross.

We're quickly approaching a year which is unbelievable to me.  So many things have happened that I wish you were here to see.  Well I know you see them, I just wish I could see you see them.  My life has been a series of terrible decisions and a million second guesses lately and no matter when I ask you for the answer, I see you with your signature hand move saying "Leave it be."  One of the sentences I heard you say again and again through the years.  You were so wise like that.  Just leave it be.  Let it happen.  Well, just know I hear it even though I haven't been listening to it until recently.  You didn't really expect me to miraculously start taking your great advice, did you?  Sorry to disappoint haha.

I watched a video today of cousin Dawn's wedding to Will.  I know you and Tim are having quite the reunion up there with the family, but the video made me bawl like a baby.  Just as Tim wasn't there to walk Dawn down the aisle to the love of her life, if I ever get married, you won't be there either.

For some reason that crushed my soul today.

I want to dance on the tops of your feet with my whole hand wrapped around your thumb.

Sometimes I feel like I'm a kid again.  When I think of you, I struggle to remember the end and the difficulties of our every day.  I don't like to think about you forgetting your words, the safety covers on the stove knobs so you couldn't turn them on, the long sleepless nights, the bedside commode that you almost pummeled me for making you sit on (LOL).  Nope, I don't think about any of that longer than a couple minutes.  I think about you and your rhymes you would spout off out of nowhere, the slaps on the back of my brothers' heads, your morning coffee spoon trick, your peanut butter toast with butter that no one could make as good as you did, or that damn raspberry coffee cake (HAD to be Entenmann's), you working tirelessly with the boys on the lawn on Parklane, the way you looked at mom every single day ... Hey!  I even went to a Mexican restaurant on your birthday and saw those friggin parrots hanging on perches just like the ones you bought off that lady in Acapulco... remember that?  I sent a pic to Amy while I was at lunch and she laughed so hard.  Omg those things were EVERYWHERE for YEARS!  And all because you didn't want a pregnant woman to have to peddle all day on a hot beach.  How many of those things did you buy, like 150?  I was just a kid, Drew's age actually, but I'll never forget that.  I've always been so proud of you, dad.  

How lucky was I that I had a father so incredible that missing him actually gives me a pain in my chest?  Well duh .... I know I'm luckier than most.  So what.  I miss him and I want him here.  No matter how many voices say he's always with me and sees, blah blah blah, I know all that.  But the thing I long for at this moment, more than any other thing, is a hug from my dad.  Every time I walked in the house, he would say "Hey, kid!"  My biggest fan for sure.  How I miss that voice.

Drew constantly notes how handsome and tan you are now.  I believe her.  And I thank you for sticking around for her.  She's a busy kid, but there isn't a day that passes that she doesn't mention her papa.  She misses you immensely.  Me, you, and mom are her people.  You made it possible, along with mom for me to give her the most loving formative years.  I've said before that she will be a little funnier, a little kinder, and a little wiser for knowing you.  That little lady is going to carry you with her for the rest of her life and for that I couldn't ever thank you enough.

Day to day hasn't changed.  We are learning to deal, but sometimes the emptiness is all consuming.

Someday, maybe, I will semi accept that the road continues without you, but it's never going to be okay with me.

There will be times when you wanna hold on, but you gotta let go.

I have undoubtedly come to realize that there are those who think that I should be in recovery mode by now.  Maybe one day a long time ago I would've thought the same.  And maybe sometimes in the present, I feel that recovery mode could be a viable option shortly.  Then I push the 'shortly' off and understand that shit will just happen when it happens.  Who even knows.

It's the most astonishing concept to me that the death of my dad has actually taught me a lot about myself.  My feelings, the tangible realization that life is so short, my worth, my time, the importance of all of the little moments in a day.  I'm working on it.  I'm working on it.  The importance of the little moments.  And trying to grasp that there will be times when you wanna hold on but you gotta let go.  Learning to breathe.  What a concept.

Crying every day hasn't subsided.  Triggers are all over the place, of course.  Like the other day, leaning on a chair at my table, my friend must've noticed my face and asked me what I was thinking about.  This glass vase of shells I was looking at reminded me of pops and his favorite place.  Ugh.  I love to hate those moments.

A little extra streak of anger has crept in for sure.  Sometimes I'm so mad that I'm missing my dad so much.  And I'm mad that Drew is missing out on the greatest man I've ever known.  I don't care that she was lucky to have him for 6 years.  She doesn't have him now.  I actually grabbed for my phone when I got an accepted deal on a house the other day.  I thought in my head "gotta call dad, he'll love the way this played out."  Fuck!  How the Hell did I just forget I can't call him?!  Happens all the time.  Or I'll think "I haven't talked to dad in a minute...."  Well no shit!  You don't say ....

With the anger comes gratitude believe it or not.  I have a lot of friends that make me laugh.  I also have a lot of friends that remember the healthy and hilarious Bernie that everyone loved.  Those stories are like a bear hug.  Irreplaceable.  He touched everyone he knew.  Man do I miss those shananigans.  There's really nothing else to say about him that I haven't already.  He was just that guy.

Drew misses her papa and talks about him every day.  She will be a little sweeter, a little funnier, and a lot stronger from knowing him.  He loved her with his whole heart and soul.  She'll carry that with her .... see,  there's some more of that gratitude thing.

It's been 7 months so I just wanted to write.  Nothing important.  You're not going to find anything profound here, that's for sure.  Just a girl missing her dad and wanting to write about it.  Yawn.

Foundation.

Every time I take a potential buyer to look at a house, they always talk about the foundation.  Without fail.  They want to make sure the foundation is solid.

When a sailboat is on a choppy lake, the sails shift with the wind.  They propel the boat ... push it, and make sure it stays afloat.

So since October 9, I've felt like my foundation isn't as sturdy and the wind, taken out of my sails.  I've learned a lot, and now I'm stuck.  Life is a balance of holding on and letting go, after all, and I don't want to let go.  I have no choice, but I don't want to.  Most days I daydream about him more than I live in reality.  I talk to him.  I listen to the voicemails he left me on my phone.  Every day,  I look at the Cabrera triple crown Detroit News article he stuck on my mirror in my bedroom that I'll never take down.  For fucks sake, I won't even delete the nightly reminders for his medication on my phone.  No way in Hell.  Those annoying bells still make me feel connected.  Now if that's not a "what the hell?!!" moment I don't know what is. ...

In the last two months, people have been overly kind, understanding (or tried), compassionate, quick to share empathies, and generous with their ears and shoulders.  I'm appreciative.  But I'm sick of talking about dad's departure.  Sometimes I just want to pretend he's at home, coloring with Drew and that's as far away as he'll ever be.

Can I just say that this Holiday season is horrendous?  I hate it.  It was his favorite time of year.  Every red bow, every Santa hat, every figurine that lights up and plays obnoxious music has pops written all over it.  Dad would buy out Home Depot every year, I swear.  The more lights, the more loud ass bell ringing and carol singing the better.  Christmas at our Parklane house was like Bronner's on steroids.

I was reading this blog on Facebook the other day listing the top things that grieving people don't want to hear.  I uttered a lot of "uh huhs" to myself.  People mean well, they really do.  But dear God, please stop saying "it'll get better" or "he's in a better place."  I have news for you, it'll get better when I decide to let it and I'm not ready for that.  This pain is excruciating but the crying is cleansing and it reminds me of the fact my dad cannot and will not ever be replaced in my life.  There's that  little bit of magic I always talk about.  They don't make 'em like him.  Next in line, there's no better place for my daddy to be than right here with his family.  Indeed.  I just wish I could hug him.  You have no idea, pops.  I just wish I could hug you.

The other night when Drew was practicing reading a bedtime story to me, she said that you told her you were proud of her.  If you did, I'm begging you to stay with her.  Those moments make her beam.  She can't get enough.

As 2016 approaches, I'm quick to say good riddance 2015, you sucked ass.  But I have this feeling of dread that I'm leaving him behind.  Yea I know I'm not, don't say it.  It's a feeling I have.  Please don't correct my feelings.  They're mine.  Every day I power through gets farther away from when he was here.  Seems absurd to be moving in the wrong direction like that.

Today I was moving my kitchen table over so I could fix my rug under it.  I had a flashback of you standing there next to me and mom the last time we did it.  You wanted to help so bad.  But you were confused and just stood there.  I got annoyed and said "dad, watch out!"  You were startled, but you knew you couldn't help with whatever it is we were doing.  So when I went back to that today, I sat next to my rug and broke down into a blubbering mess.  Like the ugly, snotty cry kind of blubbering mess.  DAMNIT, I hate this.

When I remember you, you're 65, healthy, tan, quick, sharp, hilarious; I could go on and on.  I have to really struggle to remember the 85 year old with dementia and I'm grateful for that.  Thank you for being the father you were.  The man you were to my mother.  To your family.  To your friends.  The imprint you left will forever be unmatched.  The man I marry, if I find him, has some shoes to fill.  May be close to impossible.  By the way, since you're in with the big guy now, you can bring my soulmate to me anytime  **wink wink**.

In closing I just want to put into words how lucky I am to have Drew, my mom, my family, and my closest friends.  Without all of them, this would be even more unendurable, if that's possible.  I'm grateful for every shoulder I've cried on (sorry about the makeup) and every ear I've burned up.  I promise to be there for you when you need me.

Because the truth is, it takes a village to help us get through the rough parts. 

We grow from the rough...

... and we learn to live anyway.

         

 

  







  

 

   

So Long.

By so long I mean soooooo long.  Why does it feel like it was so long ago?  Is this me in denial?  I don't even remember the stages of grief and I've googled them like 12 times.  The dreaded words:  my dad passed away 21 days ago.  These have been the longest, most clouded, chaotic 21 days of my life.  Between losing my dad, a million people around all the time, worrying about mom, worrying about Drew, missing my dad madly, airport trips, broken sleep, I am absolutely exhausted.

And I don't think it's hit me.

I feel like a huge drum.  Sounds so weird ... it does to me too but that's the only thing I've been able to think of that represents this hollow.... loud feeling.  It's so empty and so loud.  If you beat a drum, the sound lingers.  Rolls like thunder.  I hate this.  I never knew I could miss someone so much but yet feel so lucky that I had him as my father for 36 years.  The guy was incredible.  Over 200 people at his memorial and I'm still getting cards in the mail.  Leaving an impact on the world around you like that is what everyone strives for, right?  So proud of him. 

Here we go with the roller coaster.  Far from over I'm sure.

I read a story from my mom at the funeral and never wavered.  Although I did almost knock down the podium .. . truly.  There are times that I'm shocked that I can get through a story, a thought without shedding a tear or even having to swallow a lump.  But then there are the times that I can't even speak.  Occasionally I panic and there's about 9 seconds where I think I'll never be able to live without him.  I snap out of it, but those 9 seconds are excruciating.  I'm so sick of tears burning my eyes.  That damn film gets on my contacts and I can't see shit.  I always notice now.  I notice little girls with their dads, I notice red F-250s coming toward me on the road, I notice Marine tattoos, I notice papas with their granddaughters, I notice the absence of Obsession cologne in my every day, I notice that the paper doesn't come to the house anymore and I notice the space that he filled.  The idea of a wedding or seeing wedding pictures of brides with their daddies sends me into a moment for sure.  The emptiness is all consuming.  Every day I laugh out loud and every day I cry really hard.      

How long is this going to hurt?  I know I know, no time limit.  I wish I had a crystal ball.  I can however say this one thing.  That in a way it has brought us together even tighter.  Talk about leaning.  It's beautiful to have my mom and my siblings.  It just is.  No one else knows the empty like they do.  Yikes.

Worrying about Drew a little ... She has barely cried and when I gently asked her why, she said "Because he never left.  He's been right next to me."  I hope it's true.  I really really hope it's true. 

I'll just say that I'm waiting for time to do its job.  Is better even possible?  I keep thinking about all of the things I will miss with him.  Opening Day won't ever feel the same, that's for sure.  The list gets a new addition daily.  I want to also thank my mom for constantly being in all of our faces with a video camera for years.  Because of her, Drew and I will never forget what papa's voice sounded like.

Surely one of my most favorite sounds.

 

 

It's Not Goodbye .10-9-15.

I'm going to admit right now that there has never been a time in my life I can remember that I haven't been completely terrified of this day.  To say out loud, or type, that my dad died is more painful than I ever could have fathomed.  The finality of this is breathtaking.

This week has been the most tragically beautiful string of blurriness and emotions I've ever experienced.  Dad's been unresponsive for the most part since Monday.  A moan, a wince, a furrowed brow, sometimes a grin.  That was it.  So we started to make phone calls.  We called family, we called friends, I texted, I left voicemails, and I was careful not to veer from the same strong script to the ones who answered: 

"Hospice says 24hrs - 7 days.  Come say goodbye."

So for the next two days, friends and family trickled in and out as the family movies played in the background.  We wanted to make sure dad was hearing laughter and love from his favorite people every minute.  There was food constantly being dropped off.  There were 40 pairs of shoes at the door, voices ... so many voices.  Margaret crushing pills every two hours ... did we sponge his mouth?  Dishes clanking because everyone had to eat, although no one felt like it.  The damn coffee pot making its 48th pot of coffee by 2pm.  The hum of the washing machine and the dryer on at all times.  Oh yea the air conditioning too.  That was running.  Hospice said we should keep it cool in the house.. better for his circulation.  These people think of everything.  More friendly chatter:  "He was the most wonderful man," "We are so sorry you are going through this," "He always made me laugh," "Remember that time when ....."   So many memories were laughed about .... tears fell down for sure.  My dad was just that guy.  The guy that was loved by every person he touched.  He never knew a stranger and would give you the shirt off his back.  Yea, that guy.     

Hospice nurses came daily, sometimes more than once, vitals were taken, approximate timelines and stages were a regular topic of conversation.  In these last 4 days, I've learned words like apnea, dysphagia (?), death rattle, DNR order.  I learned how to bathe my dad and change his sheets without moving him from the bed.  I learned that we needed to protect his skin with a rub.  The sheets must be perfectly flat because any little wrinkle or edge might make him uncomfortable.  His heels needed to be floated.  Do you know what that means?  I didn't either.  His heels couldn't touch the bed because they would get sores.  Did you know that hearing is the last sense to go?  That means daddy heard everything .. we all told him it was ok to let go.  We will all be fine.  But he heard us laugh, he heard us remembering.  He heard every voice that stood by his side.  He knows all of his kids and his person, my mama, were there with him and we all had a part in his peaceful passing.  See the tragically beautiful thing there?

I've been bringing Drew home at night to sleep in her own bed and go to school the next day .. keeping some normalcy.  What is normalcy, anyway?  Moving on ... So I got the call at 3:23 this morning from Amy.  I said the word fuck to myself as soon as I came to and saw who was on the other end.  Fuck, it's Amy.  "Dad's gone."  She managed to muster through tears.  "Come over."  I shot out of bed in a fog, went and woke Drew, threw on shorts, flip flops in 50 degrees, and drove to mom and dad's in the same fog.  Where the Hell was I on my way to, again?  Oh yea, my parents' ... because my dad just took his last breath.  My dad just took his last breath.  I saw in Drew's eyes she wasn't ready for this to happen yet.  But really, were any of us?  Poor Drew .. I'm her mom.  I'm supposed to be her safe place.  I was a blubbering mess.  So you know what the kid says to me?  Just this:  "Mom I'm happy for papa ... because this was his choice."  Huh.  Drew 1 Mommy 0.  Once again she leaves me speechless.  Thank you for being mine, Drew. 

The 4 minute drive to mom and dad's is over.  I walked in the front door and up the stairs.  That seemed to take forever and everything echoed.  Maybe Amy was joking.  Shit, maybe dad's been joking this whole time.  "Get up, let's go out to eat!" Yea, no ... there he was.  Lifeless.  His face, still warm, obviously needed just one more kiss.  I ran my fingers through his grey hair .. I remember sliding my thumbs across his eyebrows and the way they felt.  Coarse.  And that one freckle he had on his head ... I used to call him Gorbachev.  Will I remember this?  Who knows .. and then I felt every wrinkle around his eyes, every whisker I missed while shaving him.  Oops.  And those ear lobes ... HA!  Those ear lobes.  I joked with him when I was a little girl and told him if I had his ear lobes, I'd pierce them 20 times!  He always just shook his head.  I closed my eyes and in 30 seconds, my 36 years with my dad flashed like an old Polaroid.  It was jolting.  Damn I'm going to miss that guy.

Just then I realized my dad would never dance with me at my wedding.

The funeral directors came to get dad's body.  My sister took Drew to her house next door, mom went to her room, and there I was.  I just had to watch him go; not sure why.  They gently wrapped him and carried him down the stairs.  It was quiet ... so quiet that the only sound I could hear was the buzz of the light bulb.  Is that really even a thing?  Do light bulbs buzz?  I just stared at his empty bed and cried.  As the sun started coming up, the construction traffic across from mom and dad's started.  The day was starting.  How is life around me even going on?  Doesn't everyone know my dad is gone?  Things should cease.  But they don't .... clocks keep ticking, the world keeps spinning.  Days pass by.  Curled up in a ball on the couch alone, I looked up and saw one of my closest friends walking up the stairs toward me.  He didn't say a word, just scooped me up and let me cry.  I remember thinking right then at that moment there was no place I'd rather be.  Thank you for that because I know you're reading this.

Looking over his shoulder with tears rolling onto him and the couch, I realized that for the last week, myself and my family just helped my dad on the longest journey of his life.  The most significant one to date.  Together we gave him a comfortable, loving, peaceful sendoff.  I know he's thankful because I am.  Kudos to my family.  Daddy taught us well.  We are a strong little clique, aren't we?

So now what?  Where do I even go from here?  Believe it or not, helping take care of my dad gave me a purpose.  I had no idea that's what it was, but it was.  Need to know what kind of medications he's on and how much?  I got it.  Need to know his A1C number?  I got it.  Need to know why we need 2 separate appointments at the VA?  Let me explain..  His blood pressure was always low, sugar always runs high, psoriasis on both knees and his left foot.  Sees a podiatrist regularly.  So now do I just get rid of that information engraved on my brain?  Seems absurd to me.

One day at a time is my M.O.  That's the only way.

To daddy, well here we are.  This week has dragged on but gone way too fast.  Does that make sense?  As Aunt Nancy would say, journey well.  I miss you like the worst kind of crazy.  The emptiness I feel is consuming and at times unbearable.  I won't wrap my head around this for some time, I'm sure.  You left an imprint that will forever be unmatched on both myself and my daughter.  I'm not going to say goodbye because that's not what it is.  It is until we meet again.  We will do that.  I promise to help mom heal.  She said last night that she feels like she will have a broken heart for the rest of her life.  You both are so lucky that you had a love like you had.  I won't settle until I find that.  I know that she was your person and you hers.  I promise to help mom heal.

To Drew, you have now experienced your first big loss.  And what a loss it is.  I'm so sorry baby.  Papa loved you with his whole soul.  He still does.  When I told you last night that he is all around us, I wasn't telling a lie.  He will be with us always... protecting, watching, hopefully playing a practical joke or two.  We will get through this my love.

To mom, just breathe.  You have the most awesome guardian angel now.  You were loved in a way that some people are never lucky enough to experience.  That is not much comfort now, but it will bring you peace in time.  I love you and I am here.

I've decided this isn't the end of my blog.  This is and always has been my outlet and I will most definitely need it in the days to come.  I thank every reader of my words for sharing in the journey of my dad.  It was hard, exhausting, lovely, trying, beautiful, and tested every ounce of patience, strength, and will I have.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Rest easy, daddy .. I will miss you every minute for the rest of my life.  So until we meet again ...

 

      



              



       

The H word.

Today, after dad's first night at home from the awful nursing home he was in, it has been decided to call in hospice.  Hospice.  We. are. calling. in. hospice. for. MY. DAD.  I typed that like I said it today.  Like this stuttering, garbled mess of words that just falls out.  I really can't wrap my head around it.  I mean I knew it was coming, but hospice?  I shudder when I hear the h word. 
Always have.

So many times, perhaps thousands in the last couple of months I have asked myself if I asked him enough.  It plays in my head over and over and over.  The record spins, it skips, it spins.  Did I ask him enough.  And will he be here with me.  Will he check on us.  Will he visit Drew.  Will he know we miss him.  Will he watch the milestones.  But most importantly, did I ask him enough.  It's kind of annoying.  I can't do one thing about it, so have you ever panicked because you realize halfway to work you left the curling iron plugged in?  Yea, that.  Did I ask him enough. 
And the silence is deafening.

When I get sad, or angry, or feel helpless, I pull away from everyone and everything.  It's just the way I operate.  I couldn't care less if it's right.  It's my way.  Shit I even pull away from daddy.  I get so fucking mad, like this is his fault.  Ok maybe not his but someone's.  This shit is someone's fucking fault.  The mixed emotions I feel every day are like a really crazy painting.  One with absolutely no object that someone threw together and you think to yourself "Now who the Hell would pay for that?"  Apparently I inherited it for free. 
It's just hanging there.

I have the worst headache today.  My eyes feel like dry wells.  Nothing left to give.  Then tonight when Drew and I walked into mom and dad's and dad was in his chair surrounded by brother Mike, Amy, Mark, mom, and cousin Margaret, I felt that sense of peace again.  Thank God he is home; he can feel our love all over him like the warmest blanket you can find.  The one with the soft fleece on one side.  That's all I want.  Well that's a lie; I want him back but that's not gonna happen so once reality settles in I realize peace and warmth for him is all I want. 

But hold on ... I've had one emotion for 20 seconds so time to switch gears ...

I feel alone.  I'm definitely NOT alone.  I have a million family members I can call at any given moment.  I have friends that love me like crazy and would do anything for me.  I am the center of my child's universe and she is engraved in my soul.  I am definitely NOT alone.  But I always feel that way.  I guess it's because I'm alone with my thoughts.  I can't escape them and I'd love to .. just for a few minutes a day.  Stop thinking about the Disney World trips and how dad would act like a kid again, stop thinking about him taking me on the job sites with all of the boys, stop thinking about his jokes, his laugh, his love for my mom, his ability to command a room, his love for his family, his firm back hand if you were a smart ass, the fact that he never missed one of my basketball games, his generosity, his love for horses, his love for cars, jumping out of bed at the sound of his door knob at the end of the hall ... "I'm up!" ...  every single one of my brothers knows that one!!! It just goes on and on. 
In my heart and my head, this is the end of the greatest era I will ever see.

When something ends, something new begins.  That's what I always hear so that's what I'm gonna go with.  I guess now it's about dad's journey.  I have said a million times that I'm so lucky to have had him. 

WE are so lucky to have had him.

To Drew, as you get older I will constantly remind you to hold memories tight. 
And always remember that with family and love, you are unbreakable.