Goodbyes.

It is with incredibly heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our dad. 

Our dad was never much of a gifts person. Our mom can definitely attest to that, though we trained him in recent years on the value of the occasional bouquet of flowers.

But he really just appreciated your presence. And he always made it very apparent that he was happy to see you, and to be with you. He told us often "I love you" and "I am proud of you", and showed his love through big hugs and kisses. And he always made the people around him feel comfortable and welcomed. I’m sure he is already making friends in heaven.

We still remember him driving us to school in our household purple minivan, holding our hands and kissing us on the cheek before we hopped out of the car. In elementary school it was cute, but by middle school we felt embarrassed to be seen in THE purple car. But not our dad.

We still remember him trying to hug Terry, but Terry desperately trying to run away from his tight embraces and abundant kisses. But still he pursued.

At one point, we got tired of our dad's endless need for taking family photos, especially on family vacations. But our dad reminded us that they were memories for us to treasure. And they are.

We are reminded through his passing that life is fleeting, that our bodies are incredibly fragile, and every person, every thing, and every day is a blessing on this earth. Nothing is this life is guaranteed, but we were lucky to have a dad who loved and cherished us, who worked hard to provide for us, even when he didn't need to, and a family to call home.

There are many marvelous things we could say about our dad, many things that you know yourselves. This occasion is both full of sorrow, yet full of joy - that our dad is with God in heaven, as we desire to be. Where he will feel no more pain, no more sickness, no more sadness. Where the burdens and hardships of sin are no more. There is joy in knowing our dad is there now. 

We're not sure why God had to take our dad now. And to be honest we're still in disbelief that he left so quickly. But we hope he left knowing how much we love him, and that we'll be okay. 

We miss you Daddy, but we'll see you again.