Christmas Eve, 2014

It is my custom to decorate Mom, Dad and graves every Christmas.  This year it was especially tough because I have been missing them so much.  This compounded with the fact that I found out Dec. 22 that I am getting laid off January 7 kind of put me over the edge.  This is just the kind of thing I would want to talk over with them.  They were always supportive whenever work issues came up over the years.  What I am trying to do is hear their voices in my ears ....remember the words that they would say to help me deal with such a big and sudden event.  I really wish I could talk to them...even for just an hour.  I guess I will have to wait to see them on the other side when my time comes to join them.

Merry Christmas Mom and Dad.  I love you.

All Saints Day

As has become my custom, I always put pumpkins on Mom and Dad and Grandmother's graves for Halloween.  It lends a bit of the spirit of the season in the cold and wet cemetery.

Today is All Saints Day, a Catholic holy day to honor the dead.  When I moved to France I learned just how important this day was to people all over France.  In Paris, it is the custom to pack a lunch and your grave cleaning supplies and go spend part of the day with your deceased friends and relatives.  Far from being morbid, I found it to be a warm and wonderful custom that involves whole families.

While I didn't do that much at the actual grave, I did bring the pumpkins and talk with Mom and Dad as I do every time I visit them.  It never seems like much, but I am not really sure what else I can do.  What I did for them, I did while they were still alive.  After their deaths, I buried them with the ringing of a Tibetan Bell and words from the Bible and other traditions.

It has been 2 years since Mom's death and 7 years since Dad's death.  Still, many times, I long to speak to them both if only for a few precious minutes.  The other day I was driving my car to work listening to a father talk about his 27 year old daughter's battle with breast cancer.  He is at every appointment and takes care of her as only a parent can take care of a child.  He closed by playing a song called "Daddy's Girl" and suddenly I found myself sobbing at a red light.  Grief sneaks up on me in ways that I can never anticipate. Crying was a good release in that moment...because it reminded me that I am and always have been Daddy's girl.

I miss them both, I love them both.  As All Saint's Day comes to a close I remember them and honor them now and forever.

7 years

7 years ago today my Dad, Robert T. Corliss died. Not a day goes by that I don't think of him and wish that I could have another chance to talk with him.  Instead, I bought flowers and arranged them at the grave he shares with my Mom....always remembering to leave some flowers at my grandmother Lydia's grave which is right next to Mom and Dad.

Walking the dogs tonight I looked up in the sky and saw a big hole with shafts of sunlight coming through the clouds.  I have always associated this sight as Dad looking down on me.  Whether it is true is of no importance.  It is one more way I remember and honor his presence in my life.

Oh, Dad...

Oh, Dad, you have been on my mind throughout today...the 6th Father's Day without you.  I finally had time tonight to go to the store to get some flowers for the grave...but everything looked a little spent.  I could hear your voice in my ear..."Don't waste money on these old flowers".  So I left and came home to write you this letter.

Thanks for all the times you had my back.
Thanks for all the times you listened and then listened some more.
Thanks for always believing in me and cheering me on.
Thanks for always believing anything I wanted to do could be done.
Thanks for telling me about drinking and giving me that great advice...Moderation in all things.
Thanks for being there when I fell down...for picking me up gently and with love.
Thanks for all you taught me to do...ride a bike...ski...believe in God...and too many things to list.

Your sister Josephine told me after your death that you adored me.  Well, Dad...the feeling is mutual.
I am still a little lost without you..without your constant loving voice.
I am trying to be the parent to Haven that you were to me.
I guess that is my greatest tribute to you.

I love you, Dad.  Always have, always will.
Happy Father's Day

Happy Birthday, Dad

January 27, 2014 would have been Dad's 94th birthday.  He always hoped to live to be at least 95, but that didn't happen.  Still, Dad had a wonderful attitude at the end of his life.  He was so accepting and funny about his death.  I remember him saying to me "No one has ever come back complaining".  I think that was also the way Dad lived his life...never complaining...just getting on with it as best he could in good times and in bad times.  I miss him every day.