Dear Dad,
it's father's day today. i wish you were here so i could tell you, in person, how grateful i am for you, what an impact you've made in my life, and how much i love you. i wish you were here so i could ask your advice and tell you how proud i am of dan. but mostly, i wish i could tell you about my little girls. they recognize you in pictures and call you and dallin by name. madison knows you're in "heaven with Jesus" and that has given me opportunities to have conversations with her about the church and the plan of salvation. teaching opportunities. but she's still young to understand it all. she picked a dandelion at the cemetery on memorial day and i told her she could put it by your headstone. she asked if you would get it when you come home. we're still trying to make the best of it.
madison and grace were so funny at church today. they both wanted to sit in the corner of the pew, then on dan's lap, and then with me. it was like musical chairs. and of course the whole time, neither one wanted the other one next to her. that made sacrament meeting interesting. and sweet little grace- she loves taking the sacrament. she scoped out the deacons and anticipated their arrival at our bench with shaking arms while yelling. "bread! bread!" followed with her sinister giggle that makes us laugh every time. then she dumped half the water down the front of her dress, trying to drink it, and our goal was to keep her from dripping the other half into the remaining cups on the tray as she threw it back in. you'd have a hard time not smiling at her from the stand. i like to think that maybe you spent time with her before she joined our family here on earth. but we don't know how that all works up there - we'll just have to see for ourselves one day.
madison has become quite the swimmer. {and don't worry, she's always lathered up in sunscreen!} she loves diving for rings and swims all around the pool with just the help of a noodle. she even "dove"off the diving board during swimming lessons. grace is much more cautious and enjoys sitting on the top step or being on someone's hip the best. remember a few years ago when hannah and mom were visiting us in AZ and while we were swimming at farnsworths you walked in the back gate and surprised us? you drove all the way down by yourself to surprise us, for a quick 24 hour visit, to see your little grand-daughter. it was so unlike you.
it was surprising to see how quickly you embraced the role of grandpa. it seemed to come naturally and madison took to you right away. you were her favorite. we all laughed when you'd come home from work and say, "where's baby?", the first second you walked in the door. and that last week in cedar before the crash, you took madison on walks through the neighborhood, visiting people in the ward. those eighteen months you had with madison were special. while hannah, chris, and dallin never got to see you with their own children, they were able to see what it would have been like with their own kids. what it still can be like.
i miss you. so much. but i know you want us to keep going - keep working hard and staying true to what we believe. you were an example of that, as well as dallin. i hope that even though you're not here with us, you know how much we love you. i could not have asked for a better dad.
happy fathers day.
love, marie
1 comment:
So beautifully written. You have a special family. I had to say that when my cousin was barely old enough to talk she saw a picture of our late grandpa and said that she played with him before she came here. Kendi also said the same thing when she was younger. Kendi and my cousin have a large age gap, but still seem to have a special connection. I know that people get to know each other on the other side. All of us will be together again soon.
Post a Comment