We left my Dad’s graveside and drove straight to Florida. Tim had a job there, and while we would arrive a day late, he was still needed at the church in Ft. Myers. The trip couldn’t have come at a better time. It offered me the opportunity to rest, take long walks on the beach, talk to God, capture some great photos, and reminisce. Unfortunately we weren’t there long enough to see any of our friends or family. We were only there for just a few days, then back home. I needed the rest! Amazing how much the ocean can heal the mind and soul.
Still evident was a lot of destruction from the hurricane. Boats were stacked up like a junk pile, even sitting in the tops of trees, and other rubble remained all through the city. Many businesses are still closed. Sad indeed. Never underestimate the power of God’s hand.
They are working hard to clean up the beaches. Not all of them are open, but I was blessed to go here.
Huge coconuts dotted the shore, seaweed pointed the way, incredible sunsets took my breath away, and I came back to the hotel with burnt feet. These all made the experience worthwhile.
“I see the stars. I hear the rolling thunder. Thy power throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul. My Savior, God to Thee. How great Thou Art. How great Thou Art!”
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
I have to admit, I thought my father would outlive me. I thought most people who were still alive in my family would outlive me. When I was first diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in December 2016, they didn’t think I had long to live. Yet, I have long surpassed the “average” length of time I should have lived. Every time I go in to see my doctor I am greeted by nurses and techs who smile with surprise and excitement to see me doing so well. My brother (Shawn), and now my dad, have gone before me in that period of time. Mom passed away in 2014, so it’s just me and my sister left.
Dad had just purchased a new scooter, 500cc. It was his second ride. I didn’t even know he was thinking about getting one. He sent me a personalized Christmas ornament with Tim and me on a motorcycle. We had talked motorcycles off and on because of our rides, and we had even texted that morning about something else. I didn’t know he was riding, or even contemplating it.
He thought the scooter he bought might be a bit too big for him, so he decided to try it one more time before taking it back. That’s when he had the accident which took his life. He was 85. They think he had a heart attack which caused the wreck, but no autopsy was done to confirm. They deemed it an accident.
It was a total shock, of course. I thought he would live to be 100, or 95 at least. He died on a Monday and the funeral was that Friday. I had chemo on Tuesday and an echocardiogram on Wednesday, so we jumped in the car and drove to Kentucky for the funeral right after that. It’s a two-day drive from Conroe.
I saw my sister, of course, and her family. Some cousins were there that I haven’t seen in probably 30 years or more. It’s funny how funerals tend to bring people together. An old friend of ours from college also stopped by when he saw my FaceBook post. He lives in the same town where Dad lived, oddly enough, and his wife had even heard about the accident because one of her work colleagues was a first responder to it.
Disney is right. It is a small world after all.
The older I get, the more I realize how small the world really is, and how short life becomes. Every time we turn another month over on the calendar, the days, months, and even years get shorter and shorter. The world is spinning faster and faster with every tick of the clock. Sometimes it feels like I’m on that merry-go-round we rode as children, and it makes me dizzy.
Providentially, I had been going through some old slides that my dad had taken when we were kids growing up. It was a thing. Taking pictures and then get togethers with family gatherings usually included watching a slide show. I’ve had these for a few years, since my brother died, but I had just gotten around to turning them digital.
We had planned on going through Kentucky during our summer trip, and we were going to get together with Dad and Phoebe (his wife). I was going to show him some of the pictures and ask about them. I thought it would be fun to reminisce a bit. I had written “Visit Dad” on my calendar. Little did I know that he would be gone before then.
He was only in a few of the slides, because he was typically behind the camera. Here are a few of my favorites when I was 5-6 years old. It looks like he made use of the timer on his camera. The pictures remind me of the good times, the fun times, and the moments when our family was a family.
This was a family vacation to Florida I think.
Merry Christmas!
I remember that aquarium, and fish netting.
Dad’s Family. My family, aunts, uncles, and cousins.Dad is working on someone’s farm, or maybe he’s just trying out the seat. I don’t think this was our farm.
It’s surreal. You’ve probably been there if you have lost a parent. This is different from when I lost my mom. Different circumstances for sure. her death was expected, and I was blessed to spend the last three weeks of life with her in Hospice care. I had a chance to say good-bye, and say things as well as ask her questions.
This was different. Sudden death is no easier or harder, just different in my experience. Dad and I were not what I would call “close,” and we were just starting to re-connect over the past few years after many years of distance. The disconnect was primarily due to my parents’ divorce and events leading up to their divorce. (It’s a very long story, which I will spare you.) He was always closer to my sister, and I was always closer to my mom. He came to visit when I was diagnosed with MBC, and we started having conversations via texts after that. I was hoping we would have a few more years to continue developing a deeper connection, but God had other plans.
The cemetery was in another city and country from the funeral, and I was impressed with how respectful people were as we processed to the graveside. They pulled over, put their hands on their hearts, took off their hats, and waited for our long line without incident. We held up traffic for an hour across two counties, yet that didn’t seem to phase them. They just waited. I was impressed with their level of dignity and respect.
RIP Dad. Until we meet again on the other side…
I was surprised they already had the date on his headstone.
I snapped a few selfies of me and some family members. I missed my cousin Glennis but he was there as well.
Dad re-married three times after my parents divorced, so he had other families besides ours. I have a second sister who was also at the funeral. She was really little when we first met. We didn’t grow up together, but we keep in touch on FaceBook. It was good catching up with her at the funeral as well.
Terri, me and Bonnie, my two sisters. Bonnie is on the right. She’s two years older than me. Terri was in my dad’s second family. She’s about 12 years younger than me.Me and Megan (Bonnie’s daughter) at the graveside. It was cold and windy, but it didn’t rain.My and my cousin Lisa. I always looked up to her growing up.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
Our book for the month of March was The Scent Keeper, by Erica Bauermeister. This is an intriguing novel and a New York Times Bestseller. Once I got into it, I had a hard time putting it down. I may read it again. It’s an easy read, and the story was captivating. There is a bit of mystery, sadness, love, laughter, and of course family. Hmmm, I may have just described the majority of popular novels out there. 😂😂 🤩🤩
This book is unique in that it is based on the concept of capturing smells in a bottle, the same way we capture moments on a photograph. If you wanted to remember a particular moment in time, from a scent perspective, you could open the bottle and it would transport you back to that time. Not literally, but emotionally and in a very clear memory. The main character, a teenager by now, was raised on an island with only her father to keep her company. It reminded me of the movie “Nim’s Island,” except Emmeline had no contact with the outside world as Nim enjoyed in the movie. She questioned her father’s constant dedication to the scent bottles, and as her eyes were opened to some things on the island, this is when her life really changed.
Aside, it’s interesting how a riff with one’s parent can change an entire destiny. I’ve seen it so many times as children become teenagers and then suddenly turn into young adults. Young adults need to grow up and become independent. Oh how I wish we could keep them small! And oh how I wish I could spend one more day with each of my parents.
I went to my book club, and we left immediately after that for our trip to Kentucky. My dad passed away this week, so it is a quick trip. I’ll write about that later. After that we are heading to Florida for one of Tim’s work gigs.
I’ll keep this review a bit shorter due to traveling. After the meeting Carol sent out her summary of our discussion. As usual, she captured the heart of the conversation. I especially enjoyed the question, “what is the smell of childhood for you?” Maybe you’d like to consider that question as well. Is there a particular scent that takes you back to a certain moment in time? Smell is such a strong sense, and we often overlook its power. Anyway, here is our leader’s summary. I should forewarn you that our summaries may spoil the ending for you.
Nine of us gathered this afternoon to discuss The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister. We started off the discussion with the question of what is smell of childhood for you……. The answers were the Library, Root Beer, Railroad engine, Seaspray, a picnic in an apple orchard, fresh cut grass and the earth, the outdoors and a basement, Pine Sol, Mom’s biscuits and pineapple upside down cake, white shoulders perfume, Prell shampoo to name a few. The majority of us thought it was an easy read and well written. Most of us had no idea of how smell is used in marketing and the different layers to entice buyers. We thought the topic of the book intriguing and interesting. We talked about Emmeline/Violet and her isolation on the island with her father, the second part being on the cove and then the city with her Mother. Lisa pointed out that the author named a lot of the characters based on what happens to them. Fisher for instance because he doesn’t fish with his abusive Father and Emmeline’s Father calling her Little Lark, which she does fly away. Several of us thought the ending was confusing and many of us read the ending a couple of times. Twelve of us rated the book and gave it a 7.5 rating. Sending condolences to Cindy who lost her Father and driving to his service in Kentucky. Safe Travels to you!!!!
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
