Sentimental Sunday – Bittersweet Memories

It had been well over a month since I posted anything, so I sat down to write an update this evening. When I posted that, I realized today was my father’s birthday and I couldn’t let the opportunity pass to write something here.
My father died three years ago after a heroic battle with lung cancer. I can’t believe I forgot that his birthday was coming up. I think about him quite often and still miss him greatly, but didn’t pay much attention to the calendar this weekend.
I just got back from a weekend trip to Ohio to see a friend who lives in Florida but was up visiting her father. Ironically, her father is also battling a lung disease (if you are so inclined, please say a prayer that he get a chance for a lung transplant soon). When my friend was up before, we met halfway and spent the weekend together. My friend’s father lives down near Cincinnati. Since he is so ill, I told her I would drive the whole way to see everyone. The route I took this weekend was part of the same route I took to Kentucky in 2009 to meet with my father.
My dad wanted to travel to Western Kentucky where he was born and raised to see family once more. My niece was also getting married in early May in Michigan. So I traveled down to meet him in Kentucky and then we traveled together to Michigan.
The plan went well and we got everything done we set out to do. I have a lot of memories of that trip and may write more about it one of these days. To make the memories even more bittersweet, dad died about two weeks after he returned home.

They are all gone into the world of light, and I alone sit lingering here;
Their very memory is fair and bright, and my sad thoughts do cheer.
-- Henry Vaughan

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