Our Last Conversation

dan and i were in the car driving from the airport in kansas city, where i landed, to columbia. we were excited to see each other after a few weeks apart and he had some good news to top it off. dan's second round of board scores had come in and he did awesome. i immeadiatly wanted to share the news with my dad, knowing he had taken the same tests and would be proud of dan's accomplishment.

i called and caught my family in the car on their way to a bbq at cedar high for some event. i said i was checking in so they would know i arrived in missouri safely and to tell them some good news.

my dad was so excited. he said he already knew dan was going to do well but getting the score back confirmed it. my dad used to tell people that dan was his exit strategy - he wanted him to come take his place at southwest skin and cancer when we finished, so my dad could retire. he would have been supportive of wherever we ended up, or coarse, but loved the idea of dan replacing him.

then they pulled into the school parking lot.

"well i need to go so i can show off madison to everyone!" i laughed and knew it was true, he loved showing her to everybody.

i expressed my thanks because they were watching madison while i visited dan. my dad said once again how pleased he was with dan. then we said we loved each other and got off the phone.

i LOVE that my dad wanted to go show off my little girl. those two had a special relationship. during the weeks leading up to the crash, my dad would come home from work and take madison in her stroller, walking around the neighborhood. he'd stop by to visit people or stroll down to the church.

it was such a sweet surprise to see how much he loved being a grandpa.