Running on the treadmill during a rainy day last week I was watching the highlights from the Chicago-Miami matchup, torn between my love of Dwayne Wade and my ambivalence towards LeBron James, when I started thinking about my father. I do every year at this time. If Dad were here he’d probably feel as I do about last night’s Dallas victory, happy for Nowitski but really never happy to see Mark Cuban’s team advance. My father was like that. He had a love-hate relationship with a lot of figures in sports, and over the seven years since he went in to the hospital for the last time, I’ve speculated about how he would have judged the sports figures of today. Brett Favre. Tiger Woods. Aaron Rodgers.
Dad went in to the hospital for the last time in June 2004, and the night they did the MRI on his brain, he and I celebrated the Pistons victory in the finals. We sat in his hospital room and watched the confetti fall and smiled despite knowing the diagnosis that would be coming the next day. I miss him (and Chauncy Billups) every year during the playoffs. But I also always look back on the time I had with my father and feel grateful. I see the sparkle of his eyes in Eva’s big blue eyes and I see his smile when Sam sings the ABC’s and looks at me waiting for the praise he knows is coming. Every single day I miss my father, but every single day I am so grateful for the time I had with him and the two children I have now that will carry his spirit into the future.
Photo by Tammy Hoeger of Capturing Moments
5 comments:
a lovely tribute to your dad!
Yes, what a beautiful tribute to your father. When they are older, Eva and Sam will welcome stories about the grandfather whose spirit watches over them.
That is a gorgeous photo of your children!
What a nice tribute to your father. My dad has been gone for twenty-seven years, but I still see him in my children. Sounds like we were both blessed with wonderful fathers. ;)
Truly wonderful tribute.
Wonderful Barb! It's so nice to hear more about your father and, especially, to see a picture. I hope you'll write about him some more.
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