Friday, December 10, 2010

I Love You Dadai

Diane Estrella is doing a different sort of blog hop. It's about loss and connecting  with others who have experienced loss. If you want to read about it and read about Diane's Mama then pop over to Diane's house

Here's mine:

My  Dadaí (This is the Irish Gaelic word for Daddy.) was a strong, kind, honest gentleman. He went HOME the week before Christmas in 1997, seventeen days after Ivy was born. Kidney cancer took him, but it could never take the memories.

It was always our job to go get the Christmas tree. (My brothers and sister were all ready grown with families of their own by the time I was born.) We lived in South Florida and every year Mamai would send us out. It was ALL about being together We loved it. Just as we loved heading out to the shooting range together. (Uh yeah, I'm a sharpshooter, he made sure of that.) We'd stay at the range for hours. And no matter how many times that gun sent me flying backwards, I'd get right back up and try it again. Eventually I became an expert shooter.

This man taught me the value of honesty. And he taught me the value of a dollar. :)

I miss him so  much. He built my cabinets that are in my kitchen when he was 76 years old. That's what he loved, what he did to make a living. He was a wood worker. And the best I've ever seen. He was also a self taught mathematician. He worked out calculus/trig problems for fun. He had loads of books. That's where my love of books came from.

He was a father. And the best I've ever seen. I leave you with a quote from my Dadai:

"The first hundred years are the hardest." :)


13 comments:

  1. Beautiful, Robyn! I can picture your father. Especially with that quote. Hoping you have a joyous Christmas, filled with fond memories of your Dadai.

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  2. Touching post, Robyn. Thanks for sharing with us.

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  3. Very touching! Great tribute to your Dadai.

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  4. Oh my, tears in my eyes, and happiness in my heart to read so wonderful a tribute to your Dadai. He gave you gifts that live on today. Gifts that have helped you, and will help your children. Gifts for living a life well and with integrity!

    So happy for you!

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  5. What a great story about a great man. He sounds wonderful. And I love that quote. Thanks, Robyn!

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  6. Thank you for sharing such a special part of your life with us, Robyn. I'm glad you have those lovely cabinets to touch every day. Your tribute to your Dad was wonderful...I could feel your love for him.

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  7. Your dad sounds a lot like mine. :) I'm so sorry for you loss, just like every day I'm so sorry for mine.

    That said, I have to remind myself he's in a better place. My dad suffered for two decades, and it was a kind of release for him. For that, I'm thankful.

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  8. What great memories you have. I love his quote and it made me smile. You have his same creative brain and I can't wait to see your book dedicated to him! :O)

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  9. Thanks for sharing these great memories of your dad. He must have been very proud of you...

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  10. Robyn, this is just lovely; thank you for sharing it. I'm glad you have such wonderful memories and tangible reminders of your Dadai.

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  11. This is a beautiful post and tribute to a great man. Take care.

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  12. Wonderful memories and a great quote!

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  13. What a beautiful tribute. I love the quote :-)

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