#gratefulvibes - My Dad

I feel that the people we become in life are a direct result of parental influence. I have been blessed with two wonderful parents but this post is about my dad. This is my 3rd holiday without him. He passed away due to complications from asbestosis, so he was in a lot of pain. It broke my heart to lose him. He was an amazing man.

When I was young I wanted to be with him all the time. He taught me so many things. I learned how to put up wallpaper and paint. He encouraged me to do well in school, taught me how to design my dream home, and bought me an electric guitar when I wanted to be a rock star. He built me a doll house, even though I was way too old to play with one. He lived in St. Louis and I lived in New Jersey so he had his engineer friends design a sturdy crate so he could ship it to me without it getting damaged. Who does that?! The best dad ever, that’s who.

About 10 years ago, before he got sick, he shared his passion for stained glass with me. He patiently showed me how to cut the glass, foil and solder the finished piece. We worked together in my parent’s basement, we made it into our “man cave” and my mom wasn’t allowed down. I wish I had appreciated our time together more. So today I make my stained glass ornaments and I think he would be proud of the work I do. He may not be with me in the physical sense, but he makes up a large part of my heart.

I’m grateful and blessed to have had such a fantastic father.