Mojo for Prages

Prages said:
Welp. That sucked.

All the services are done. Now it's time to be strong for my mom and try to get her through the next few months.

I wish I could have been strong enough to give a eulogy, but there's no way I could have gotten through it.

I'll do a quick one off the top of my head here.

It was awfully nice to see a bunch of friends and family that I haven't seen in years and hear them talking about how great a man my dad was.

He really was.

My mom couldn't have asked for a more devoted husband, and my sister and I couldn't have asked for a more devoted father.

He loved my mom's parents as if they were his own, and he loved Paula as if she were his own daughter.

He could build anything from scratch, and he could fix anything that was broken. Looking around the house he and my mom built, not only did he design and build the house, but in just about every room, there's furniture that he built. Along with mom, he turned that house into a home.

He was a quiet man. He didn't do small talk. I could call the house and if he answered, I could get the same information from him in 30 seconds as I can get from my mother in 30 minutes. Still, you'd never get off the phone without hearing "I love you."

And he did.

I don't know that I ever saw him lose his temper with a person. If you were a chainsaw, or a broken clothes drier, or the clutch in a 1993 Ford Explorer, all bets were off. Not only did he teach me how to fix a leaky faucet, how to lay brick and cinder block, how to frame a house, how to shingle a roof, how to wire a light switch, how to rebuild a motorcycle engine....pretty much how to do every "manly" thing I know how to đo, he also taught me how to curse all of the above, and how, when all else fails, an 8 lbs sledge hammer can resolve most of your frustrations with what you're trying to fix.

He's left a huge hole in a lot of hearts, and his massive shoes will never be filled.

Dad, I hope you can rest in peace knowing that I'll use all the things you've taught me to make sure that mom is always taken of, and always loved, until you two can be together again.

I love you, and I can't thank you enough for making me the man I am today.
Click to expand...
Bumping this forward a page...

Well done, Greg...you were so lucky to have had a father you could feel so strongly about...as the grief fades you will be left with only the warm memories of the good man he was...
 
Prages said:
I just got your voicemail!

Belated thank you!
Click to expand...
You're welcome. And what Jello said was right on the money.
After four years (this month), I still miss my dad from time to time, but I just remember him fondly--no real sadness anymore.
Hang in there.
 
Your words were beautiful and touching.

I can tell you that time goes by and the pain lessens, but you are in the present, and you will feel the pain. I see the pain as proof that you have known love, and are capable of loving in return. Embrace it, and move through it. You all continue to be in my thoughts.
 
I'm going to tell you a story I've never told before...

My mom died June 26, we burried her July 2...my surgery was August 6...the day before my surgery I took the day off to spare as many people as I could having to deal with my angst and total liquid diet day...I drove my pickup to the cemetary and parked it by her grave, which at that time was still a pile of dirt between her parents and a fir tree...nice spot...I stayed there for an hour and spent most of that time saying a lot of the things you wish you could have said before, and I cried my eyes out...when I left I said goodbye...I walked into the hospital the next morning completely at peace with my life...
 
jelloman said:
I'm going to tell you a story I've never told before...

My mom died June 26, we burried her July 2...my surgery was August 6...the day before my surgery I took the day off to spare as many people as I could having to deal with my angst and total liquid diet day...I drove my pickup to the cemetary and parked it by her grave, which at that time was still a pile of dirt between her parents and a fir tree...nice spot...I stayed there for an hour and spent most of that time saying a lot of the things you wish you could have said before, and I cried my eyes out...when I left I said goodbye...I walked into the hospital the next morning completely at peace with my life...
Click to expand...

I think, and hope that I got my thoughts out in my Facebook/Wein World eulogy.

I really don't do cemeteries, much to my mother's chagrin.
 
Prages said:
I think, and hope that I got my thoughts out in my Facebook/Wein World eulogy.

I really don't do cemeteries, much to my mother's chagrin.
Click to expand...
I didn't either, that was a first for me...I was just drawn there...one day you'll have the same kind of moment...don't fight it and don't force it...I hate to sound trite but this is what life really is about...
 
Prages said:
I think, and hope that I got my thoughts out in my Facebook/Wein World eulogy.

I really don't do cemeteries, much to my mother's chagrin.
Click to expand...

Greg, I've never met you or Paula, but we've been talking on this weird thing called the Internet for nearly 15 years. I still feel kinda weird chiming in here on this. That said, your FB post summed up a relationship I've never had with either of my parents. And, quite honestly, I'm a bit envious of. I'm going to work for the rest of my life so my son has a different experience, and hopefully, one that's closer to yours. You honored your father in a way I think he would be proud of. You're a good man and you'll live out your days honoring your father's memory. Feelings are feelings, and you have nothing to be ashamed of regarding how you've dealt with the past week. Take care. And please, realize how proud you made him.
 
We scattered my dad at several of his favorite spots.
So whenever I visit any of those places, I'm visiting him too.
His ashes were in my sister's hall closet for a long time. After his memorial, my aunt asked if she could take a small portion to scatter in her yard. When my sister opened the box, my wife said, "Shut your eyes, Marion! Don't look at it!" It took me a second to get it, but my brother-in-law almost fell on the floor laughing.
I love moments like that--silliness in the middle of sadness--it makes it easier to handle.
 
Prages said:
Here's the thing right now.

I don't have a bad memory of my dad. I've got a billion great memories of him.

It's just that the great memories make me cry.
Click to expand...

I did the eulogy at my Dad's funeral. And the music. Honestly, as hard as it is right now, being able to say what you said about your Dad is a gift. I was scraping to say much of anything good about my Dad. You and Paula and the entire family are still in my prayers. Do I miss my Dad - no. That in and of itself makes me sad.
 
Help!I'maRock! said:
Greg, I've never met you or Paula, but we've been talking on this weird thing called the Internet for nearly 15 years. I still feel kinda weird chiming in here on this. That said, your FB post summed up a relationship I've never had with either of my parents. And, quite honestly, I'm a bit envious of. I'm going to work for the rest of my life so my son has a different experience, and hopefully, one that's closer to yours. You honored your father in a way I think he would be proud of. You're a good man and you'll live out your days honoring your father's memory. Feelings are feelings, and you have nothing to be ashamed of regarding how you've dealt with the past week. Take care. And please, realize how proud you made him.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Howie. I have no doubt that you are, and always will be a great father.

My dad lost his father when he was a teenager, and I truly believe that not having his own father around made him try even harder to be the absolute best dad he could be for my sister and me.

I get the sense that you have that same motivation.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and mojo. I definitely appreciate it.

Also, my closest co worker lost her father this morning. My boss lost 2 uncles last week, and another co worker's 6 year old daughter had a terrible accident on the playground that required some pretty major surgery (she should make a full recovery).

My office seems to have a black cloud over it for the past week or so.
 
Much mojo sent. My father in law passed earlier this year. Not the same, but I feel ya.

Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk
 
So, my mom spent a ton of money getting a private mosoleum. Of course, since dad died suddenly, the mosoleum wasn't built yet. He was temporarily entombed in the main mosoleum.

Tomorrow we get to go to the cemetery and move him from the the temporary spot to his permanent spot.

It has brought all the emotions back to the surface.

When I die, I want to be cremated, have my ashes mixed with the dogs' and spread out like mcwalt's dad. Don't drag it out for the family, and don't let Mrs. P spend a ton of money on a memorial.

If you can spare a little more mojo for tomorrow, I'd appreciate it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top