Dad was in the ocean, half floating, half standing. Bobbing up and down as each wave came in, just enough to create a rocking sensation. The water’s spray had a salty taste to it and an occasional hint of fish on the breeze. The water foamed with small bubbles as it caressed the shore. Seashells and sand looking like a mosaic of pinks, tans and grays as the water receded each time.

Dad had his straw hat on to protect the top of his head from the heat of the August sun. Sunglasses shielded his eyes and made his face difficult to read. The only clue to what he was thinking was his smile, which gave away his mood. The water was cool in spots, then a warm current would roll through. Once in a while Dad’s toes would pierce the calm waters surface creating ripples in the waves as he regained his balance on the sand below.

Down the beach people were looking out into the ocean and pointing. Some were a little excited, others just watching curiously. There was a dark shadow slowly following the shoreline in the blue-green water. An occasional flip would rise above the water as the wave crested. I walked to the water’s edge. As I did, the shadow was between the shore and my Dad. He was now standing, the water up to his waist. The sun sparkled in the water drops dripping off of him. He was looking into the water with amazement and calm. He had a grin of understanding that he was experiencing something most people never would. Dad was standing in the middle of a school of sting rays. As they moved around, the rays would slip to the sides of him with the dark tips of their fins breaking the water’s surface as they changed direction and flew through the sea.

Dad stood there, taking in each second and enjoying just being part of that once in a lifetime moment. The rays continued on down the beach and Dad watched them as they disappeared around the point, just floating on the waves — his thoughts following them as they moved on.

3 of us in the back seat
on a long trip to the sea.
Mom driving the car.
Dad reading aloud.

A tale of a great white
that attacks from the deep.
His voice quiet and calm,
as we hang on every word.
With anticipation and fear
of a creature called Jaws,
and the water we’d soon be swimming.

While Dad grins with satisfaction,
that he held our attention,
as he told us his version of
a ghost story.

I met Tim in October 2001. Our company was closing small offices in Florida and moving us to a larger office in Ocala. I moved from the Orlando area and he had moved from South Florida. I was a trainer and one of my teammates and I were co-facilitating a training class for all the reps in the call center.

The day Tim attended the class my teammate had to leave early, so he asked Tim to help me with the class since Tim was familiar with the topic. When we were introduced and I looked into his eyes, it took my breath away — I just knew he was someone special. To this day I still vividly remember that moment, the first time I looked into those gorgeous brown eyes.

It took him six years to catch up to me and realize we should be more than friends, but he was definitely worth the wait.

A few days after my mom passed, I had a dream. I suffered a lot, but I always trusted in God.

In my dream, my mom looked younger, like when she was 35 with her burgundy hair (this age I always think of my mom, even when she was alive.) She was wearing a suit that she liked very much (black & white lined plaid and red flowers pattern). I didn’t see it, but in my conscience, I had this intuitive conviction she was in a roller coaster. Two people (a man and a woman) were sitting on the back seat (they looked young too.) All of them were looking at the sky and they were smiling. There was peace in their expressions and then I saw something blurry. It was a paragraph (about 3-4 lines), but I couldn’t read the message and then one short phrase appeared clearly in Spanish and it read: “yo estoy bien.” The text was bright as gold.

Those words felt so real and they gave me hope and peace of mind that my mom is okay and that I don’t need to worry because God is taking care of her. “Yo estoy bien” means “I’m okay.” This isn’t the only experience that has happened to me since mom left. I could tell you many stories. I have learned that God is merciful and sometimes he allows us to see things to let us know that he has never abandoned us and that his promises are real.

Camping, drag races, watching NASCAR, going to bump n runs — these are not the same without him! He was a car guy, a Chevy guy for sure! Loved going to the races, loved camping, loved his girls, loved his granddaughters, loved life!