Yahrzeit

One year since your body quit this earth & your soul flew (hopefully to a place of peace & freedom from all that ailed you)... Nearly three years since this picture was taken. I'm glad I at least have one photo of you with her. I'm also glad there is a teeny glimmer of pride & perhaps even joyful amusement in your eyes.



Your 2nd & 3rd granddaughters arrived. But then mom left. Then you. Then your two children decided not to be brother & sister anymore. Blessings and grief, all intertwined. I'm not sure how I feel about any of this today, except to tell you I think of you (& mom) every single day. Sometimes with tears, often with smiles & laughter.

So, as your daughter, on this day of mourning & remembrance, I light a candle for you. Even if it wasn't always easy for either of us, I loved you dad. And damn, if I don't miss you something awful.

Quick Update on My Dad

Here is a picture of my mom & dad on their wedding day; July 11, 1957... Joan & Hunter. Look how happy they were. How young, beautiful, healthy, strong. And oh so wonderfully hopeful for their new life together as Mr. and Mrs. R.

At 6:08am on July 12, 2008, my father passed away very peacefully with a hospice nurse by his side (thank you Daisy for being there w/ him when he passed). He was 83.

I have so much I want to say about my dad but I am really just too out of it right now to even focus properly. Losing both parents in just under a year is pretty sucky. What more can I say about that? Even though in many ways, I've been sans parents for nearly a decade, the REALITY of their both being gone is starting to hit me. And frankly, it's hitting me rather hard, which I didn't expect.

I will certainly post a far more suitable tribute to my Pop very soon. But until I can muster up the energy to do so, I'll simply say...

Goodbye Daddy. I love you & I will miss you always! Your daughter, Cheryl ~