Dad

I can hardly believe it is almost a year that my father left us.

I used to hear people say about their own loss,”I think about you every day.”

I thought that was really sweet but didn’t really understand it.

I understand it now.

I think about my father every single day. I have a busy life but there is not a day I don’t mention him or think about him. Especially when I look at his photo on my bedroom mirror. Sometimes I say, “Dad, still a little miffed that you left us.”

I want to call him and ask him questions. About family history or about the current U.S. elections. About the New England weather or the Patriots.

I really just wish that he was still here.

I gave him a run for his money when I was a teenager but that was then. He, bless his heart, never held it against me. That’s what makes a great father.

He was a loving grandfather and my kids will always remember him as an important person in their lives.

This past summer, my brother ran into a family friend, Johnny, who worked with my Dad. Johnny recounted a story about when he first started on the job as a young buck. He must have dismounted the truck the wrong way and my Dad yelled at him. My Dad was all about safety and has fifty years of awards to prove it.

Johnny went home to tell his own father about this guy yelling at him and his father told him, “Pat Lennon is one of the finest men you will ever meet.”

Johnny was one of the last people, besides immediate family, to spend time with my Dad in the hospital.

Johnny loved my Dad. He was with him in the end. Even though Dad yelled at him forty years ago. Dad just wanted to keep him safe.

I loved my Dad. I was with him in the end. Even though he yelled at me some thirty years ago. Dad just wanted to keep me safe.

Miss you so much, Dad.