Passing

2013 has not turned out to be our year so far. First, our adoption match failed. Then on April 5th, Marlon's dad passed away after a long battle with Parkinson's.  It wasn't unexpected, but losing someone you love is never easy.  I am relieved that his struggle is over and know he is smiling down on us from heaven. But he is terribly missed and I am sad that he'll never meet our child.  We'll be sure to tell them all about him.  My father-in-law loved to tell stories, he had an off-beat sense of humor and would get to laughing sometimes.  He liked a good scotch, westerns and reading. Motorcycles and sailing were entertaining for him before Parkinson's took its hold.  He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and son.

My hubby is doing OK, the best one can do after losing their father.  We went down south for the memorial service and spent time with family.  Marlon's brother Joe and sister-in-law, Stella came back to New York with us. They live on the west coast; so since they were here, they might as well stay for awhile.  It was good for the brothers to spend time together, to talk and remember their dad.  A week later, we had a toast to him with a good scotch. Marlon had posted on Facebook for everyone to raise a glass to his dad at the same time as we did. It was a nice tribute. Our friends were all posting their drink pictures in honor of his dad. It was really touching and I felt like it was a good send off.  We finished the bottle of scotch at the bar and the bartender gave us the bottle as a memento.  He would have loved that.

Now we are now settling in to the new normal without his dad. That is so sad to think about.  We'll keep his memory close to our hearts.  For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity. ~William Penn