This has been a bittersweet fall. The bitter? I lost my Father very suddenly in early September. I didn't get to say goodbye to him. The same day, I was robbed by someone who obviously knew us and used the information to invade our house and take things both valuable and sentimental. We now live fortified and less trustful of those who come into our home.
The sweet? Living in a small town where people you love surround you with their concern and sympathy. Dear ones who share memories, bring wonderful food, send beautiful flowers, take lists and make them happen. Friends and family who cry with you when you need to cry and laugh with you when you need to laugh. Friends who fill your plate and encourage you to eat. Friends who fill your heart and simply encourage you.
Sweet? Sons who share their stories of their Grandfather until late into the night, knowing sleep would be elusive, the night of the day I found my Father. Daughters who fuss over clothes and jewelery and shoes, knowing I would look back and find it important, the day I said goodbye to my Father. Husbands who hold you close, make you feel safe and tell you the loss of family things was not your fault and to just let it go. Husbands who give permission to grieve not for our things, but for my Father. Grandchildren who remind me, just by their being young and innocent and so beautiful, they are a legacy to the spirit of their indomitable Grandfather.
It has taken a while. I was pretty pitiful. But time is passing. If anything, the week my Father died has strengthened my resolve. My resolve to make every day matter, to live intentionally and to never take any blessings for granted. I will allow no one will steal my joy because my life is good. I love and am loved and thank God every day for waking up, with another chance to make the right choices. I forgive the people who thought they deserved something that was not theirs to have, because they have to live with their choice. And I can live with mine. After all, I am Duncan's daughter... Lord knows he taught us spunk. Now, if my eye would just quit twitching! chrissie
I don't know you but I am so sorry. Losing a parent is one of the hardest things we are ever to do. It will get easier.
ReplyDeleteEye twitch...I know it well. It will pass as life returns to normal. You may see it return in other times of stress. Seems you have a good grip on what is important, what needs to be worked through and what needs to be forgotten. God Bless and God Speed in your healing.
ReplyDeleteI miss my Mother every day- and I am 67 years old.
ReplyDeleteI am so sad to read that you lost someone you loved and were invaded and violated the same day....courage would sum up what I read in your blog and and a determination to "deal with it"... God speed and God Bless.
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