Resa Writes

My dad passed away last week. The grief is profound.
But you know, my dad left a lasting legacy, and there are so many things I can only smile about when I think about my dad.

My dad was one of the most selfless people I have ever met and will probably ever meet. He was most proud of his wife and family and wanted us all to be happy. So he rarely if ever complained. This meant always being the last one to use the bathroom in a house full of ladies and eating foods (some for many years) that he didn’t like. All he cared about is whether we were happy.

My dad was also one of the friendliest people I’ve ever met. I don’t know how many times we’d be out and about and we’d see him chatting with someone and we’d ask him who he was talking to and he’d say, “No idea. Just some guy in the store, I guess.”

My dad was also one of the most patient people I’ve ever met. After all, he taught my sisters and I to drive, and speaking from my own experience as a parent I know how much patience that requires. I was a tough one to teach; I failed my drivers’ exam three times. But that did not deter my dad from encouraging me to keep trying. Did I mention that he was also one of the most optimistic people I’ve ever met?

My dad was also one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. If he were here with us now, I’m sure he’d agree. After all, my dad was notorious for cracking jokes…and then laughing at his own jokes so hard he’d have tears streaming down his face. I’d like to be able to share a joke he cracked but I don’t remember many of them. what I really remember more about any of his jokes was the way his whole face lit up as he laughed at his own humor, and the memory of that is enough to make me smile, and that’s what I’ll remember the most.

My dad was one of my biggest supporters in life. I’m sure there were times I made life choices he didn’t agree with but he never got in the way of me figuring things out on my own, and when I eventually did, he was there to tell me how very proud he was of me all along.

All of these things I have just shared with you are qualities my dad embodied up until his final days on earth. Even in his final days, when he was in pain, and confused, and uncomfortable, he had enough lucidity to pray for the nurse who brought him a glass of milk, or “Moo juice,” as he called it. He told her she was doing God’s work. Selfless. That’s the kind of person my dad was.

One thing that is abundantly certain is that my dad left a legacy that will be remembered for years. He left this world a better place, and I am so incredibly grateful for this wonderful man that I was blessed to have been able to call “Dad.”