Here we are–Three Father’s Days since you left this world and I still look at the green turning into your neighborhood like maybe I’ll get lucky and catch you waving all crazy while yelling “hey my babies” … oh what I wouldn’t give to hear that just one more time.

My daddy passed in September 2020. This will be the 3rd Father’s Day without him. I’m truly going to miss the hard time he would give me about taking him out to eat on that day.

Me: “Dad, let’s go out to eat for lunch.”
Him: “I already ate at the golf course.”
Me: “Ok then let’s go eat for dinner.”
Him: “I probably won’t be hungry.”
Me: “Fine, then I guess we won’t go anywhere.”
Him: “So where did you want to go?” Lol…
Me: “DAAAAD!!!!”

I’ll forever miss his jokes and smile! Love you Dad!

Sunday will be the 3rd Father’s Day our 3 daughters will experience without their Dad. Once again they will miss Gary’s Bear Hugs, his Bigger Than Life Laughter, and the Love that flowed from him for they were his Pride and Joy. Now they recall all the fun memories of Father’s Days of the past. The great thing is they never let a day go by without letting their Dad know they Loved Him. Father’s Day is the day set aside to honor him, but thankfully our daughters honored him everyday. We rest in God’s promise We Will See Him Again! He will never be forgotten.

“I know I don’t talk about it much but I miss Keith every single day” ( a text I woke up to 2 days ago.)

“on the way back from the track meet I remembered how Keith encouraged me to do sports, I wonder if he is proud of me right now” ( after Alex placed 1st in shot put. He was crying on the bus on the way back to school )

“I look back at old pictures from when Keith was in high school and wish I could talk to him about his experiences” (Alex knowing he will be going into his freshman year)

“You know I don’t get on Facebook much mom but I clicked on Keith’s profile and saw so many years of his life. I saw all the posts you make in his memory, Thank you for doing that, he deserves to be remembered”

Looking through the eyes of my youngest 14 year old son who had to see his older brother in a casket, had to deal with people at school still questioning why he was STILL wearing a mask.

Covid has not only stole the life my son but it took a brother away from 5 siblings who love and miss him so much.

I came across this yesterday and shared it with my family:

“Whenever I feel my grief, I will try to remember that I am also feeling my love.
I will honor the grief and give thanks for the love”
Dr. Alan D. Wolfelt

My very first memory is the blizzard of 1980 and my then 14-year-old uncle–who was larger than life–“throwing” me in snowbanks and playing with me for what felt like hours. Not a single bad memory with you in the intervening 40 years. Concerts, vacations, the lake, the shore, Giants games, bar hopping or just watching an old film.

You were fun, funny, kind, inquisitive, brave, a cancer survivor and above all a good man. Your friends, siblings, nieces, nephews but most of all your wife and kids miss you fiercely because you loved them all so well…