March 18
March 18
It's been 12 years since you passed into eternity. So many things have happened during this time. Your grandchildren are growing up and many of them have children of their own. What an amazing legacy you have left on earth! We think of you often, and I find myself telling fond stories about you to my own kids. We gathered tonight with mom at a restaurant to celebrate your life, and express our gratitude for all the years we had you in our lives. Earlier today, as I was thinking of you, I read one of your favorite poems: "If" by Rudyard Kipling. You gave me a card which contained that poem, on my 16th birthday. You and mom wrote in the card that this poem represented a glimpse of what you thought I could be. To this day, I take that poem out during hard times on the job, or personal life, and re-reading it always gives me strength. I remember how sometimes when you would recite poetry, your voice would break with emotion. I remember this happening when you read us "In School Days" by Whittier and it made an impression upon me at the time. Love, Life, and people matter. In your own way, you were countering nihilism! I was too young to understand this, of course, but the lesson was there and eventually it sunk in. Thank you for introducing wonderful poems and stories into our lives Dad. And think you for living out your beliefs in your every day life. You practiced the wonderful things in the poems and other stories you shared with us. This is all part of why we love you the way we do, and why you will be forever missed.