Today is my dad’s birthday, so I wanted to remember him in a post. You see, he celebrates his birthdays in Heaven, now, while the rest of us who loved him, spend the day remembering him even more than usual.
My dad was, without a doubt, one of the funnest people in the world to be around. He always had a smile and a laugh - both of which he freely shared. He squeezed every minute of the day and most definitely made each moment count double!
His happy-go-lucky nature, to me, was made more remarkable by the fact that he had a terminal illness that caused him years of unspeakable pain and sickness. He had to endure so much suffering because of his sickness, and then more suffering at the hands of the treatments. Sometimes I wondered which hurt him the most.
He lived with death every day for most of his life. Yet he never felt sorry for himself or lashed out at life for the cards it had dealt him. He simply played his hand the best he could. I never heard him ask “Why?” once. Why didn’t matter. His approach was when you focus on death, you’re not living.
The nurses, doctors and other workers all knew (and loved) my dad. He spent so much time there, they each got to know him pretty well. When they were having bad days, they’d head into his room to get a lift. He’d always deliver with a crazy story that only he could tell. Here he was, hooked up to IVs, often with oxygen in his nose - and he was in his element making everyone laugh.
I was talking about my dad earlier with one of my daughters and I got to thinking - what a wonderful thing it is to be remembered for making people smile. As far as legacies go, it would be hard to top that one! As we were talking, we started laughing about some of his crazy stories and faces. I realized that he’s still doing what he loved to do more than anything (even more than watching UK basketball) - he’s still making people laugh.
Make every moment count double,
~Joi
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