It will feel better when it quits hurting

That's what my Dad used to say when I was little and crying over something. At the time, it drove me nuts! Now, as a parent, I find it to be a very gratifying thing to say when my kids (ok, Kdee mostly) complain about every little scratch they get. I smile every time I say it, and think he must be getting a good laugh, too.

I can't believe it's been 6 years since he passed away, and now his words ring true in an entirely different way. I miss him...a lot, every day. However, I know that since he's in a better place. Selfishly, I want him here for many reasons--especially to see him with the kids. I've learned over the years that it never gets 'easier', as many well-meaning folks awkwardly say to someone who's lost a loved one, but rather it becomes a new normal where good memories sustain your hurt heart. I'm always surprised, though, when grief will sneak up on me...like the time I saw someone at Menard's that looked a lot like my dad (I willed not to cry in Menard's!!!) or the way I see a man walk that's similar, or a grandpa with a grandchild.

Tonight, all of us are going to DQ for a treat in his memory (we usually also go to a park to play, but it's just too cold!). I also have a tradition of buying a music CD or a movie DVD (as he loved music and movies)--so, this year's pick was the new Jeremy Camp CD (excellent!)

A new update with photos will be coming in the next couple of days, including new goofy statements and experiences with the kids...surely, Grandpa Gordy would have been proud!

Love you, Dad....

***************************
The Dragonfly


Once, in a little pond, in the muddy water under the lily pads,
there lived a little water beetle in a community of water
beetles. They lived a simple and comfortable life in the pond
with few disturbances and interruptions.

Once in a while, sadness would come to the community when one of
their fellow beetles would climb the stem of a lily pad and
would never be seen again. They knew when this happened; their
friend was dead, gone forever.

Then, one day, one little water beetle felt an irresistible urge
to climb up that stem. However, he was determined that he would
not leave forever. He would come back and tell his friends what
he had found at the top.

When he reached the top and climbed out of the water onto the
surface of the lily pad, he was so tired, and the sun felt so
warm, that he decided he must take a nap. As he slept, his body
changed and when he woke up, he had turned into a beautiful
blue-tailed dragonfly with broad wings and a slender body
designed for flying.

So, fly he did! And, as he soared he saw the beauty of a whole
new world and a far superior way of life to what he had never
known existed.

Then he remembered his beetle friends and how they were thinking
by now he was dead. He wanted to go back to tell them, and
explain to them that he was now more alive than he had ever been
before. His life had been fulfilled rather than ended.

But, his new body would not go down into the water. He could
not get back to tell his friends the good news. Then he
understood that their time would come, when they, too, would
know what he now knew. So, he raised his wings and flew off
into his joyous new life!


~Author Unknown~