I Am Like Him That Way

I was one of the lucky ones. I had a father who loved me and KNEW that LOVE WAS A VERB. His style of loving was through service. I am like him that way.

He always believed in the best that I could be and always saw the best in others. I am like him that way.

He would say "hello" and would strike up conversations with strangers. I am like him that way.

He loved everyone. Judgement was not a word in his vocabulary. He didn't buy into social status, ethnic differences or religious barriers. He saw all races as the Human Race. I am like him that way.

He worked hard for his family who always came first. (After his Spiritual Growth) I am like him that way.

He always was in competition with himself, to become better than he was before. To ever be his "Personal Best". I am like him that way.

He had ADHD, though back then a thing like that was never defined. It created his drive, his excellence, his creativity, it expanded his mind to where ordinary minds will not go. I am like him that way.

I lost my Dad in 1988. He was on the run, driving down the freeway when an aneurysm burst in his abdomen and he bled out in the median, in 20 minutes. His main concern was that he pulled off the freeway not to cause an accident, and when the paramedics arrived, his concern was for them, telling them he would be "all right".

Of course, I didn't make it to the hospital before they had closed his eyes and covered his head. I didn't get to say "goodbye". But as I walked to my car from the emergency room door, I heard him call my name. He said it with a rare inflection that was undeniably recognizable.

I had just divorced the year before. I had lost my faith in men in general, always comparing who I was dating to the man I held on a pedestal. He was the last man on earth who I REALLY trusted. My grief was unbearable for awhile. The injustice of it, that he had worked so hard all of his life, never getting the opportunity to retire, relax and enjoy life.

One day, while these thoughts were floating around in my head, I heard his voice. He said, "Terri, my death was my reward. I accomplished what I was born to do. Learning to love well is all there is."

Yes, He had learned to "Love Well". And I will spend the rest of MY life trying to be like him that way......