I will post stories of my Dad which really helped guide me in my journey through life. Through these stories I hope to share what made my Dad such a great person. I will first share a story about the strength of dealing with grief.
When I was 24 years old, my mother, who was only 45 years old, became very ill and had to be transported to the Hospital by ambulance. After she underwent surgery, we were eventually told that she was not going to recover. My dad, my two brothers and I were together at the hospital as we waited for my mother to pass away. While we waited for her final breath, my brothers and I were told that my grandfather Jose had passed away in Mexico. This was my Dad’s father. We were given this information because they were leaving it up to us (my brothers and I) to make the decision about telling my Dad. My brothers and I knew we had to tell him.
My brothers and I were losing my mother and grandfather and we were devastated. My Dad was losing his wife and his father on this day. The exact details leading up to us telling him seems like a blur. I remember we asked my dad to walk outside the hospital with us. Once outside we told him that we had more bad news for him. He asked how it could be worse. We told him that his father had just passed away. I expected him to curse this day, to feel sorry for himself, to ask why this was all happening to him, because this was actually how I felt. My dad cried some more after we told him and he said maybe it was best that all bad things happen to him on the same day. I did not believe the strength my dad had at that moment. It made me stronger to hear him say that.
Dad, I look back on that day and I use it to give me the strength to deal with your death now. I am not going to feel sorry for myself, I will not curse the day, I will not ask why. I will make myself a better person and I will always have you in my mind and heart. I will live to enjoy life and to make it better for the people that I can. I thank God he made me your son and for the time we had together.
Always, you loving son.