May 25th 1995 is a day that forever changed the course of my life. It was on this day that my Dad left this Earth and left behind countless friends and family members. This list unfortunately included my Mom, sister and myself and from that day on, none of us have ever been the same. Up to that point, I had lived a somewhat normal childhood. Don’t get me wrong, there were no white picket fences involved but there were definitely memories being made and there was a lot of love to go around. Then that day came and suddenly, I wasn’t the “daddy’s girl” anymore. My Mom was a widow in the blink of an eye. My little sister was robbed of a life with a father and the memories that go along with that. It was a brand new life and one that we didn’t ask for but it was our reality.
Over the last 22 years, we’ve all had our fair share of ups and downs but we’ve remained a tight-knit group of badass women and I’m thankful for that. Had we never experienced this loss, we may not be as close as we are today. Who knows where we would be but that’s the beautifully scary thing about life and how it can change so quickly. Although I’ve tried to never let my circumstances define me, this life changing event undoubtedly had an impact on me, on all of us, and the people we’ve become today.
Whatever ways the death of my Dad has changed me as a person, many of which I’m sure I don’t even realize, there is one thing that’s for certain. I will never dwell on this day. Just like I don’t dwell on what happened yesterday and I won’t be doing it tomorrow either, should I be fortunate enough to be granted with one. That’s not what this life is for and that’s one thing I hope my son can learn from me. I will try my hardest to show him that today is all we have and that even a bad day is a good day. That’s in large part to you, Dad. You lived life fast, maybe too fast at times, but you lived it with love and to its fullest capacity and that is something I take with me through my life, no matter where it leads me.
Life is fleeting and that is something I know for sure. Life is exciting, exhausting, heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once. I hope to give Lyric an amazing childhood filled with adventure. I hope to give him everything I didn’t have which includes two parents and the gift of being a child for as long as possible. We all have plans for life and some of those plans get altered or cancelled altogether along the way for one reason or another. Sometimes you just have to smile and roll with the punches because if not, you get stuck. You get caught up in those little things that don’t matter and you never look around and simply enjoy the present.
Today, May 25th 2017, I woke up to a smiling, walking, babbling, amazing little man we call Lyric and that’s all I need. Thank you, Dad, for giving me the ability to appreciate these moments. Your life story, although shorter than we would’ve liked it to be, has taught me so much. But in the interest of this not getting cliche or too Hallmarky, I’ll just say that this day was once a sad one but is now surrounded by happiness. Today is a great day because I’m alive and my son is amazing and my husband is pretty rad too. I have an awesome family and a few best friends to share this life with and what else do you really need?
This day serves as a reminder to enjoy all of those things while you are lucky enough to have them because they could be gone in an instant. Thanks for the memories Dad and thanks in advance for the hopeful future in which you will touch every part of in more ways than you know. Lyric will know all about you and if I’m lucky, he’ll have a little of your bright spirit that will shine through every now and then and make me smile like you always did. Keep watching over us, keep singing to me and maybe I’ll see you soon but hopefully not too soon because this life is just too sweet to leave just yet. Cheers. I love you and miss you always!
Lyric & A Whole Lotta Love 