Maya Angelou wrote:
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Simply put, my dad made me feel cherished. Four years after his death this feeling remains.
He treasured his family. I think he actually thought all five of his children were perfect, or maybe he just treated us that way. He lost his mother at age seven and learned early the power of family. Shortly before his death he told my husband that life had turned out so much better than he expected.
I believe when he met and married my mom, in Japan of all places, life began again for him.
I’ve included the drawing I did after his death. As usual art helped me to cope. The drawing was done from a snapshot taken at his surprise 82nd birthday party. Normally there would have been lots of photos from my own camera. Unfortunately I landed in the hospital the night before. When I finally arrived at the party unshowered, exhausted, and bedraggled, he looked up at me with pure joy. As always, even at age 82 and wheelchair-bound, his strength of spirit lifted me up.
I’m so glad that I agreed to the photo because it captured how I felt toward a dad who was/is my hero.
I read this quote recently in a greeting card:
“You honor him by the way you live your life”
Dad, I’m still trying!!
It’s been a bit more than a month since I turned 59. As I consider my own transitions I’m also struck by those of my grandchildren. Sam (5 years 9 months) is in his last week of Kindergarten. We recently attended a show where he performed a Spanish dance with the entire class of Maxwell Elementary. The children were in costume and paired up. Sam looked so grown up! It seems like just seconds since his birth made me a Grandma. He and his 2 1/2 year old brother Gabriel have filled my heart. They are more incredible than I could have imagined, and I have quite an imagination!
It’s been almost twenty years since my mother-in-law died and yet May, her month, still fills me with memories. Her birthday was May 9 which seemed so appropriate with its proximity to Mother’s day. She was the consummate mother. She always remembered the little things that really are the big things. Birthday cards were never late!! Her journals were filled with positives; not one critical word. She saw only the best in people.
She was so excited to see Nick that she planted a big, very visible lipstick kiss on his cheek! It touched my heart so, I knew this was something I had to draw. I wanted to make it special so I drew a heart of flowers around the portrait. Prior to that time I had not been an avid flower painter but this event got me started down a new path. I hope you enjoy the drawing – to me it’s a golden oldy, loaded with sentiment!
At the ripe age of 50, after 27 years in Texas raising our kids, the move to Concord, MA was difficult. No more close friends nearby who knew the song in my heart…. No more cozy places where my children grew up. Wonderful places like Zilker Park, McKinney Falls, the city of Austin, the state capital building, San Antonio Riverwalk and Zoo, the list goes on and on…..
Artful Passages 