A fond farewell

We're all back home and our weekend farewell to my dad went very well. My brother, Tony, had arranged a service at the Catholic church he and his family attend. I did okay through most of it - until Tony got to the eulogy he had written. That was tough. He talked about my dad's innate inability to whisper and the embarrassment it often caused us, the relationship dad had with his grandchildren, and a few other funny stories. Then he told about a day recently when he saw dad look at himself in a mirror and be very sad at how old and dependent he had become. Tony did a great job and made it through the whole thing without breaking down. Can't say the same for myself.

After the service we all (about 60 people) went back to Tony's house for the reception. Being the type of family we are, the sadness was mixed with a lot of humor and love. Stories about my dad and some of his "escapades" have always been highlights of big family dinners and this was no exception. We watched a beautiful DVD that my daughter, Jenni, put together using both old and new photos that I had, and music that meant something to my dad: Frank Sinatra singing Chicago (his favorite city and singer), My Blue Heaven for the years with my mom, and Bye Bye Blackbird for his later years. My kids and I can never hear Bye Bye Blackbird without thinking of him - he would sing along any time he heard that song.

Most of the people left Tony's house by 5:30 and the kids and I stayed on for a couple more hours and had some nice "family" time. It was much needed by all of us and much enjoyed.

So now we get on with out lives knowing that we honored and celebrated Dad's life in a way he would have enjoyed.

Bye Dad. We miss you.