Tuesday, November 20, 2012

19 years...

19 years have past...I still miss you more than words can say, yet the sharp pain is gone and in its place is an ache for you to have experienced and seen all that has happened in the last 19 years.  

As I reflect back on all those years I wish you would have been able to...

- stop me from dating some of the boys that didn't meet your standards
- be a part of my sporting events in high school
- see my high school graduation
- drive me to college
- shake Dan's hand the first time I brought him home (I know you would have liked him right away)
- answer a phone so I could just hear your voice when I missed you in college
- talk to Dan when he wanted to ask your permission to marry me
- walk me down the aisle and give your baby girl away...I really missed you then
- see me graduate from college
- shortly after graduation hold my first baby, I would have loved to see you hold Josiah
- give Josiah a ride in your semi, he would have really enjoyed that time with you...just like I did
- hold Alayna when she was born, I'm told she looks just like me
- celebrate with us when we bought our first house
- share in our shock and excitement at finding out we were pregnant again with baby #3
- come visit and see our 2nd house
- hold Seth when he was born...he would make you laugh and I would once again see you run in your cowboy boots :)
- encourage us when we took the step to become foster parents (you picked up lost and abandoned people along the side of the road when you were trucking...I can see how your heart would be burdened for for lost and abandoned kids too)
- experience all the holidays with us as our family has grown from 1 grandchild to 10...11 with our foster daughter...you would enjoy that
- share in the everyday happenings...I think I miss that the most... 

No matter how many years pass by...I will always miss you.  I'm thankful for your legacy.  You were a man of character who loved the Lord and loved your family.  I will forever be thankful to the Lord that I was blessed with a great dad for 13 years...not everyone can say that.  Not all dads are wonderful and though I didn't always appreciate you when I was younger...being a parent now has made me thankful for you and for how you parented us.   

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