Remembering
Speaking of things that suck, it’s been eight years since the day my dad went into the brain surgery that, ultimately, resulted in his death. I know I say it every year, but I can’t believe it’s been that long.
Today when I went to the gym and thought about the weight bench and the weights that my dad had in our basement. I don’t actually remember him using them, but my sister says she remembers. She remembers him telling us that we could look at the weights, but we couldn’t touch because he didn’t want us to get hurt. That definitely sounds like something my dad would say.
Tonight I’m watching the Leafs-Habs game. My dad would have loved watching this – his beloved Leafs against his hated Habs on Hockey Night in Canada. I can just picture him with a bag of chips and Pepsi, yelling at the TV. Right now as I type this, the score is 1-0 for the Leafs, with 8 minutes to go. I hope my dad’s eyes are watching this.
I miss you, Dad.
Hi Beth,
What a beautiful remembrance of your father! I think its poignance was heighted for me because I read it four days after the 18th anniversary of my own father’s passing. Dad was born in March and died in February. Mum was born in February and died in March. To brighten these two months for me, I focus on their birthdays and I do something in their memories for each of my siblings or give to one or two CRA- listed organizations that my parents would have supported. To be more mindful in this action, I do not do the same thing two years in a row, and I enjoy the deliberative process. This year I selected Critter Care Wildlife Refuge in Langley for the good work they do for animals in need and VGH for the care my sister and I received there for her stem cell transplant in 2019.
This reminds me a little of the series of blog posts you wrote in December about the Twelve Days of Giving.
What a lovely way to remember your parents, Sandra! I love that you make it a deliberative process so it doesn’t just become a routine habit, but is a thoughtful reflection. That’s so beautiful!
I will have to check out the Critter Care Wildlife Refuge in Langley. I know the wildlife refuge in Burnaby, having once brought some baby ducklings that had been separated from their parents there. But I”m not familiar with the one in Langley.