My Dad

This is a photo of my Dad, taken when he was a young man. I love this photo. It brings a smile to my face to see him in this photo. Seven years ago today my Dad passed away. I was just 3 months pregnant with Katie at the time, and I can remember that day like it was yesterday. He went into the hospital for surgery on December 11th (or close to it) with the plan to be home one week later. That week came and went. And Daddy never made it home. Loosing him was the worst thing that I've ever been through in my short 38 years on this earth. He was a great man.

Today my immediate family (brothers, sister, kids and the in-laws) will be gathering at my Mom's for our Christmas celebration. When Mom first suggested this day for our annual gathering, I wasn't very happy that she wanted to do it today. But then I realized that I guess it is pretty appropriate that we do meet and CELEBRATE today. Not only celebrate the holiday - but I guess celebrate our family, and my father.

So, to celebrate my Dad (and NOT to mourn him), I thought I'd share some little tidbits of Dad that made him, in my eyes, the very best:

1. He was a whistler - always whistling some tune or another. Used to drive my Mom nuts, because many times he was a "nervous" whistler. But I loved it.
2. He had a Dunkin Donuts coffee belly - NOT a beer belly. He LOVED his Dunkin Donuts, BIG TIME!
3. He was the biggest Chicago Cubs Fan I think I have ever known. He was loyal and stood by that team through good and bad (usually bad). He would get SO UPSET over their games, I often feared he would have a heart-attack when watching them.
4. Believe it or not - he liked Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Bon Jovi! (Yes, Bon Jovi!) I remember being home one afternoon when Dad called me down to the family room. He actually had MTV on the T.V. and he said, "Who is this band?" I told him it was Bon Jovi. I remember waiting with great anticipation for him to say something like, "Their hair is too long" or "Their music is too loud", but instead he said, "I like them." That was a really cool moment to me.
5. Everytime I would leave the house - especially if I were driving - my Dad would remind me to lock my car doors. Every single time. "Lock your doors!" he'd yell, as I was running out the door.
6. He really adored my Mom. I remember moments of them fighting like cats and dogs -but raising 4 kids and working hard - they always worked this out. They loved each other, and that is so beautiful to me. My mom has one of those "Once a Week" hair-dos (when she goes to the "Beauty Parlor" ONCE A WEEK and has her hair done.) Her style has pretty much been the same as long as I can remember - it's teased up high and looks very neat, but it doesn't MOVE at all. Not one bit. I remember going and getting a perm once when I was probably 18 years old and coming home with that '80's kind of curly "Mall Hair" style. My Dad was NOT happy with my new look. I remember him saying to me, "I thought you were going to have your hair done?" I told him that I did. He said, "You're kidding. Why don't you go and have your hair done like your mothers? Her hair always looks so neat." I remember being mortified that he told me to do my hair like my Mothers. I told him he just "didn't get it". I was such a teenager, you know?
7. He used to sing this little tune, "If I tell her that I love her?" He had a great voice, and every once in a while he would change the line from "IF I tell her that I love her" to "SHOULD I tell her that I love her" or "WHEN I tell her that I love her." It used to crack me up and I used to want to say to him, "TELL HER ALREADY, DAD!!!!"
8. He was Felix from the Odd Couple. If there was a dirty spoon in the sink, he'd find out which kid put the spoon in the sink and why they didn't clean it and put it away. The garbage can in the kitchen was NEVER filled with garbage. NEVER. He would immediately take whatever you might have just thrown in there, and put it outside in the large garbage can behind the house. I still can't figure out why he even HAD a garbage can in the kitchen. He was proud of his clean home (and he would absolutely go crazy if he saw my house right now!)
9. Right in line with the above"Felix" reference - he would always immediately vacuum the house after a holiday or family party. That may seem normal to you - except with my Dad, he usually did that when the GUESTS WERE STILL OVER. He had no problem starting to clean up the house - I mean REALLY clean up the house (take tables down, dust, vacuum) when our guests would still be with us. SERIOUSLY! Most of our family friends and relatives knew the drill, though, and they would cooperate by lifting their feet when Dad was coming by with the vacuum where they were sitting. SO Funny!!!
10. He didn't like to go places. And he would be ready to leave the moment he would arrive anywhere. He was a simple man who loved his home most of all. He was always there, if we ever needed him. He was a good man, and he raised a good family. And I love him.

Those are some of the TOP things about my Dad that I just love, although there are THOUSANDS more. Loosing him 7 years ago was the worst day of my life, and there has been something so bitter-sweet about Christmas since his passing. As the years go on, the bitterness is less and less. Thinking about him - seeing him in my daughters - and knowing that he is watching over us, somehow helps. Today I am not going to cry for his loss. I am going to celebrate in the life he led and the joy he gave and know that someday we will meet again. I believe that. I have to.