My Daddy

This post is long overdue but I am not even sure that I will be able to sit here and write it now. Most of you(all 1 or 2 that read) know that my sweet, wonderful daddy has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Wow...where did that come from. Never in all my thoughts of daddy growing older and eventually leaving us did I ever dream that he would have cancer. There just is not hardly any history of cancer in our family. Heart disease..yes, high blood pressure..yes, strokes...yes, diabetes..yes...but not cancer. And stranger still is that when we found out two weeks ago it had already spread to his lungs and brain. We still do not know where the primary source is. So very quickly we have had to deal with the realization that my daddy will not be with us much longer, maybe 1 to 3 months. He is now a resident at Adams County Nursing Center in the same room with my mama. It is very strange to be there with both of them and neither of them realizing who the other is, but somehow it is also very right. Daddy is on pain medicine now that is helping him to rest. When he is awake he recognizes some of the family, but not all and he talks out of his head a lot. This has forced my sister Becky and I to talk about funeral plans. We had discussed this with daddy before and have some notes written down about what he wanted. He has always been very claustrophobic and has said through the years that he does not want to be buried. He asked to be cremated and for us to spread his ashes in the ocean...being the Navy man he is... so that is what we will do. Of course we will have a memorial service first so that all the people who's lives he has touched can pay their respects. By the world's standards my daddy is not a rich man, but by what really counts in this ole world, he is the richest man I know! Daddy is kind, generous, caring, loyal, honest, and a loving man. He would give the shirt off of his back to anyone else in need and has many times! He was a perfect example of a loving husband to my mother and a loving father to me and Becky. His smile and beautiful blue eyes could light up a room and my heart. Being in his lap, even long after I was grown and had children of my own, was the safest place on earth. Not only was he a great example for his family, his influence on young boys that he coached in Little League baseball was one of kindness and understanding. I cannot count the times someone has said to me, "your dad was my little league coach, he is such a nice man!" Daddy worked with lots of people through out his life and many of them have told us what an honest, hardworking, loyal employee and employer he was. Mama and daddy were also close friends to many people. They loved to get together and cook fish, play cards, and just have a good time. Many of these people and their children have been our life long friends and they all love my daddy...because he loved them! I can't even begin to tell you the joy that he has brought to his granddaughters and great grandchildren and the joy they have brought to him. What a blessing that he has been able to have a real relationship with all of them. Daddy never talked much about his relationship with God, but it was very evident in the way he lived his life. He grew up in a Christian family and was saved as a young boy and as I thank God for all that my daddy is, I thank Him for this most of all...because I know that when daddy breathes his last breath on this earth his very next will be in the presence of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and that we will see him again!!!