Even though it’s been eight years, it seems like it’s been forever. At 3 am, I received a phone call indicating that my father passed away; it wasn’t suddenly as he was diagnosed with pancreatic and colon cancer 15 months earlier. Although we were expecting it, we were hoping for a miracle to happen.
My father and I were really close. He taught me to fish, he taught me to shoot, and he taught me to be strong. Ever since he passed away, I felt as if there was a dark cloud hanging over me. Everything I try to do didn’t work in my favor. Those that I thought I trusted stabbed me in the back. Those I thought were my friends were really enemies. Every positive change I try to make haunted me.
I’ve learned to accept his death. But it’s not me that I am concerned with as it was my now 10 year old son (then 2 year old) who suffers from not knowing him.
This experience alone creates the foundation to my lessons. I use my personal experiences as a guide to the lesson. My dad has taught me a lot (even if I didn’t understand it at the time). But I understood what he was trying to accomplish in the short time he lived.
Every year I begin school with a quote from the movie, Everybody’s Fine, where Robert De Niro says, “I have three children, six grandchildren. They’re busy. They’re too busy to talk to me. I gotta make an appointment. They got lost some place. They don’t need anybody. People changed, life is changed. Today, you shake hands with someone, you gotta count your fingers to make sure you got five fingers back.” The point of the quote is that eveeyone is too busy to take the time and spend it with the ones who you care about and who care about you. I often find myself in that position.
My father unintentionally instilled his strong will and hard work ethics and morals in me. We take for granted everything we have and don’t appreciate those who worked their whole life with morals and values or gave their life in honor. I know my dad would not be happy with my current thoughts, but he will
always be proud of me. Love you pops!
September 30, 1944 - February 26, 2012
Vietnam Veteran
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