Holy Hard Week

Two years ago today, Charlotte Annie said goodbye to Pappy as she and Adam drove back to Ohio. Here is what I wrote at that time.

Little did my brothers, Mom, and I, who stayed behind, know that Dad would be leaving us as we knew him that same night.

Four more days would pass before his body would breathe its last breath but the man we knew, the one we loved beyond measure, and the leader of our home who cared for, led us, and protected us so well left us on this day two years ago to begin his journey home to our Lord.

Ever since 2020, Lent and Holy Week have been extra hard for me as those times of year provide flashbacks to that extra hard holy week as we watched Dad decline and eventually peacefully breathe his last breath with us at his bedside.

All the details and memories from those early April days leading to the middle of the month are never far from my mind but are especially salient during Holy Week. Adding another layer of hard, one of my courses I teach involves focusing on the role of parents and caregivers in the children's educational matters and in their lives. This week, much like back in Spring 2020, we focused specifically on fathers and the importance of why they matter within early intervention. Those conversations and the webinar assignment we work out of fell during this 12th week of classes. On Easter Monday, we will have the long awaited funeral with military honors for Dad. I'm in part dreading the whole affair and in part thankful and grateful we can finally give him the service he so deserved. In a way this mixture of feelings takes me back to those initial days of feeling relieved Dad was no longer suffering mixed with the immense grief that is still felt today.

Now that Easter Break is about to start and the hectic frenzied pace of teaching/advising/meeting has slowed for a bit due to the liturgical schedule, I have no choice but to start facing what is coming up in a few days.

Let's rock and roll, right, Dad?

Grief is the last act of love we have to give to those we loved. Where there is deep grief, there was great love. ~ Unknown

If you could spare some extra prayers this weekend on Sunday which is the actual anniversary and then on Monday which is the day we will have a special mass for the repose of Dad's soul, brunch, and then the funeral service with the military honors that afternoon, I would be so grateful!