My father was my hero. He was also a war hero. At 19 years old he served his country in Vietnam. At war that created a lot of controversy, skepticism and was very unpopular. But that did not matter to him, he was proud to serve his county, and came back a decorated solider. My mom and dad met and fell in love. They had a wonderful marriage for 41 years. They did everything together. Many said they were attached at the hip. The past two and half years have been a very difficult time for my family. I lost my father 5 days ago and my beloved brother two and half years ago. I could have never imagined this happening to me, but it did. The two great loves and men in my life are gone forever. But I dont want to talk about my loss. I want to celebrate and cherish the time I had with them. My father was the strong silent type. He was the guy in a Clint Eastwood movie. A real mans man. He was an old school, hard working man with a lot of integrity. He would do the right thing even when no one was looking. My dad told it like it was. He was patient, loving and protective. My childhood memories were filled with lots of activities. We would go fishing, ice skating, hiking, skiing and 4 wheeling. He came to my soccer games and would drive me and my girlfriends into Manhattan on early Saturday mornings to attend art classes at Fashion Institute of Technology. We spent our summers at our beach house in Point Pleasant Beach at the Jersey Shore. My parent provided a very privileged lifestyle filled with lots of love. He taught me how to be kind, loving and gracious. My dad is a very special guy and that is why we are all here today, to honor his life and legacy. I will miss him terribly and so will my mom. The last 3 months I was given and extraordinary experience. I had the opportunity and good fortune to spend everyday with him. We talked, we laughed, we joked, we reminisced. We both knew he was dying. I remember one day toward the end we were sitting on the patio talking and I said, Dad, I gotta go to work now. But that day he said please just stay a little longer. He was never the type to ask for anything. I knew that day the end was approaching near. That day I did stay with him and Im glad that I did. In the end life is about memories. Its about the quality of life not the length. I have epic memories with my father and I would never trade. I have two angels in heaven that I know are soo happy to be reunited and will watch over my mom and I. I love you dad.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 04:04:02 +0000
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