Amazing!

What an amazing day yesterday was! Yesterday was the hardest but yet the most amazing day of my life. I started crying the moment I got up - it hit me, today is the day we were going to say goodbye, today was it. Since Tuesday I have just been numb and going through the motions of getting everything ready for his celebration of life. But the minute I got up I couldn't stop crying, it was all hitting me at once.

The mass, ah the mass, it was so beautiful, with the acoustic guitar, with the Knights of Columbus and their swords, with the standing room only crowd, with Deacon Bob giving such a wonderful personal homily, with the grandchildren all behaving well enough to walk roses down to dad, to the music, the readings - it was just a perfect, beautiful mass. We could not of asked for a better way to say goodbye.

The Celebration - all I can say is WOW! What an awesome tribute to dad. I heard some people come in and were shocked about how many people were there - it wasn't just family and friends, there were guys there from twenty years ago, guys he taught baseball too, just wanting to come up and say what a great father he was - and then the party moved to mom and dad's house and more stories and just more celebrating his life. We lite off more fireworks - for he loved them.

THANK YOU is never enough to say and it doesn't do it justice in saying that to everyone who helped make dad's celebration a remarkable, beautiful, amazing experience. It was exactly the way he wanted it, exactly. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

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I believe in these things and some people may not but last night at mom and dad's all of a sudden out of the blue a hunting dog appeared, with no collar. The kids were playing with him and feeding him and this dog would not leave. We have never ever seen this dog before. Dad had always wanted a hunting dog - I believe the dog was dad's way of saying, hey he wanted to be at the party too and part of the action. He was never one to miss a good party. It just makes you think.................
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I know some of you didn't hear the eulogy that I wrote that Father Joe read for me due to the A/C - so here it is:

I promised mom I wouldn’t make this depressing and sad. I just wanted to say a few words about dad.

Dad would even hate that anyone is up here talking about him. That was the type of man he is, modest and humble. I remember typing on the blog one night about what a great father he was and how I was so proud of him. The next day he asked me why I would say something like that and I told him it was because he was a great father and a great role model for everyone and he said no, I am not a great father, I am just a dad.

Dad saw himself as an ordinary man, but to us we saw him as an extraordinary man. He lived life to the fullest and even in the last 6months he has lived his life with dignity and honor. Never once complaining, never once saying why me.

Dad had many accomplishments in his life, the biggest one being his family, being married to mom for almost 44 years, all five of us and the grandchildren. He didn’t love anything more in life than being Grandpa, it was his greatest accomplishment. It is my promise to him today that I will tell the grandchildren about their grandpa and how great he was and how much he loved each and every one of them.

There are many stories we can all tell about dad: him losing his teeth in Cumberland and diving down to find them and he did!, the story about him and Uncle John as kids working on a project together painting a house. They asked for an advance and they were given it, they kept asking for “advances” and by the end, they had taken more money than what the estimate was and the job was never done, the infamous 4th of July parties he had every year, or just times he would sit at the kitchen table and weeble wobble and never fall down, well maybe once or twice.

He never thought of himself, not once, not even in dying did he think of himself. The last six months he was always making jokes, and flirting with the nurses, he always had a great spirit and not once complained. Even the day we found out that there was nothing more they could do for him, I was crying and he turned to me and said it will be okay, I am not scared. Instead of us comforting him that day he comforted us. He kept saying that it is okay, it’s life and I am ready. Even to the end he was living his life to the fullest and to the day cutting up jokes. “Tom, this isn’t the wafflehouse”….

I found this poem that sums up dad and what he would be saying to us today:

I have been sick and frail for awhile
God granted me a good life so smile
Because I am with Jesus this day
This is a beautiful place to stay
Do not cry for me
If I could speak to you today
This is what I would say
Celebrate my life in a wonderful way
Have joy in your life, sing and pray
Do not cry for me
Only a moment in time we will see each other again
What a wonderful day that will be
I am thankful that I have been your friend or father or brother
God is gracious and I am at peace
Be blessed my dear ones
Do not cry for me


(and Yes I am going to keep the blog going)

Much love to all,