On October 10th, my Dad decided it was time to reunite with Mom. The picture above was my last photo of the two of us together.
When asked to describe Dad, the first word that came to my mind was humble. He has so many talents that he never thought they were good enough when he was younger. It wasn't until the last few years that he would talk about what a good job he did at things.
Dad was a very talented mason. His brickwork is in so many homes in and around Faribault. He was such a perfectionist in everything he did. I remember in our French Lake home, he built a beautiful fireplace. After we moved into the house, he tore it all out and made it over again because it wasn't up to his standards.
With only an 8th-grade Country School education and a GED he earned while serving in the Army, he went on to build two very successful masonry businesses.
When he retired, he taught himself woodworking. He started making birdhouses, birdfeeders, trellis, and even doll houses for his great-granddaughters. All of us have them in our yards.
I have so many great memories of what a great Dad he was. Every winter, he would take the fence down for the cow pasture and flood the little pond we had to make a huge ice rink for us. After every snow, he would be out there making sure it was cleared off so we could go ice skate. We had a huge hill that we spent many hours sliding on. Dad used to take a few rides down that hill on the toboggan. He was always ready to play with us.
His gardens are famously weedless. He took such pride in them. Not only did he have gardens, but he also put in a small apple orchard. He would plant an acre of sweet corn, and when it was harvested, he would put it in the back of his truck, park it at the end of the road, and we would sell the corn. Dad taught me how to drive the tractor to work the field.
When Dad was 66, he decided to start walking for exercise. I was also very into exercise, so we really bonded on it. He started walking more and more every day and started to keep track of how many miles he had gone. He set a goal to walk the same amount of miles that it would take to walk the distance around the earth, 24,901.55 miles. At the age of 76, he achieved his goal. I talked him into doing a 5K with me and my daughter Amy when he was 70. I told him it was a run/walk, so he could just walk it. Unbeknownst to me, he decided that he was going to start running. So when it was race day, he ran the whole race. I was so proud of him. Nothing can top watching him running across the finish line.
Dad went on to run two more races with us. At age 71, he ran a 5K in 29 minutes. At age 75, he ran a 5K in 35 minutes.
He is my inspiration. I hope to continue to walk and run as he did into his 80s.
Alzheimer's took Dad away from us in the end. It was so hard for him as he lost his memory. He was aware it was going away, and he hated it. It robbed him of so many things. It is an awful disease.
When Mom died last year, it was so hard on Dad. They had been married for 64 years. They had been friends since they were teenagers. He was lost without her. She was his life.
I look at this picture and I imagine that Dad was writing a love letter to Mom.
Dad told us all over and over again that he was ready to go. He did not understand why he was still alive when Mom was not with him. His only wish was to be with Mom.
This has always been my favorite photo of Mom and Dad. They were young and in love, sitting under the willow tree in my Dad's family home. Because of this picture and my memory of that tree, I have always wanted a willow tree.
So when we moved into our latest house, it came with a willow tree. The day that Dad died, the northern lights were so bright.
I looked towards my willow tree and saw this. I believe Mom and Dad were sending me a sign that they were happily reunited again.
It has only been a year since Mom died. Even though I know that Dad is happy now, I selfishly want him back. I am still learning to live without my Mom, and now I have to learn to live without my Dad...
Sharon
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