My dad passed away five and a half years ago. I miss his hugs, advice, jokes, acceptance, love, laugh, caring, voice, smell, even his crunching of food (if you know me, you know this is huge).
I hear his voice in many ways.
Every times I drive, I hear him telling me to put my leg down. Explaining how unsafe it is and he doesn't want me to get hurt.
Every time my youngest giggles, I can hear his laugh. I see the tears rolling down his cheeks from his laughter.
Every time my husband eats something crunch, I hear his loud crunch of his favorite chips. The memory of wanting to scream because of the sound.
Every time IU plays basketball, I hear him yelling at the TV. I can see his passion for his Hoosiers.
Every time my mom makes spaghetti, I see his plate of spaghetti noodles with no sauce. He had to stay away from anything that would cause heartburn.
This past Christmas my mom surprised my brothers and I with a special gift. Together we opened our individual boxes. This was a very special gift. Mom had saved my dad's shirts to be made into blankets for each one of us. I will admit I had sat with my blanket wrapped around me several times since Christmas. Every time I feel like my dad is hugging me.
The whole blanket. It brings back so many memories of dad. I am so thankful that my mom thought to do this for my brothers and I.
Somehow every time I look at this portion of the shirt, I can smell dad's cologne.
He loved his job. This shirt reminds me of the passion he had for sharing the word of god.
I think more than half his wardrobe was camp shirts. Why not? He loved this place.
Oh the bleach spots. I am so happy that this shirt made it into the mix. In the summers dad ended up ruining his shirts from working. It would just not be dad's shirts if a shirt like this was not included.
From the time I was a little girl, for Father's Day I would buy him a shirt similar to this. It became a tradition. This was the last Father's Day shirt I was able to give him.
Yet another camp shirt. This one is special, because this was from his last summer. I got the chance to spend extra time with him this summer and we created lots of memories.
What a beautiful keepsake! Love the memory quilt!
ReplyDeleteMy dad is nearing his final years…and reading your piece brought tears to my eyes. I'm thankful you had such a loving and special relationship with your father.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a wonderful and thoughtful gift! I think it's the best gift I've ever seen! You can literally wrap yourself in memories!
ReplyDeleteI love the details you chose to share about your dad in this piece. Thank you for sharing a little bit of him with us!
The love oozes through this post. What an amazing gift that will keep his memory alive for many, many years. Your dad sounds like he was pretty special in his own right...thus the quilt just scratches the surface and allows his memories to come streaming through.
ReplyDeleteThis slice has me all choked up. What a special memory of your dad. I am so happy you have that. Your mom is a special lady to do this for you and your brothers. Sending you a hug. :)
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