Our Dollars For You

As I mentioned in this post, today marks the one year anniversary of my dad passing. A year ago, he was hanging out at Reverend Jim's Dam Pub & hung this dollar on the wall. The wall was filled with dollars & he finally put his. He went behind the bar, grabbed his own tacks & hung it front & center. That night, he passed away in a motorcycle accident. It was a day that shook our world as a family. It was so unexpected. We held the "after party" at the pub & found out about this special dollar he left behind just a few days before. We decided we wanted our dollars right next to his. As a family, we pulled out all our dollar bills & wrote messages to my daddy.

There's his dollar! It's like he knew we'd be there a few days later. :)

Hanging up our dollars next to his.  

A few months later the pub got a Harley shirt with my dad's name on it that he had ordered in the mail. They hung all our dollars, his dollar & his shirt in a shadow box that now hangs at the restaurant. Father, you are not forgotten. We love you & miss you so very much.

A Year Ago Today

  Is it weird that I'm posting about the 'after party' of my dad's funeral? Maybe. Maybe not. To me, it's not weird. It was this beautiful time of remembering & celebrating his life. There's things we do, ways we celebrate, that seem so 'daddy' to me. Anytime BBQ, music, a bon-fire or some form of outdoors is involved, it feels right. It feels like he's there. The 'party' we had after his funeral at Reverend Jim's Dam Pub, felt right, it was him. It was so him, I think we all kept looking back, expecting him to be there, or doing double takes at guys with similar builds. Guys, I wish I had more photos. I wish I had photos filled with all the people there that loved him. I wish I had photos of everything but you know, it's a funeral, and that's not really what you're thinking about. Today marks the one year anniversary of my dad's passing. We spent some time today spreading his ashes into the lake. It was hard. We miss him dearly. But it was good to remember him all together & be together. Thankful for that. We love you daddy!

Your Shop

To most people they may only see a saw, a car, a hammer, a dirty piece of ply wood, a shop; but those of us who knew you, we see something more. We see pieces and glimpses of you. We see memories of you in each thing & each tool. We see your dreams in the projects left undone. We see your hands & craftsmanship on the handles of each tool. We see your creative spirit. We see you working & building, making things new and making things better. We see your wild, fun & free spirit in things like spray paint & all of your toys. We see a hard worker in your dirtied gloves.  And somehow we feel closer to you with the smell of saw dust and lacquer. Or in a cold garage, or  holding a rifle or blaring music with our windows rolled down. We see you in the faces of people who love you & who you have loved.  Other people may see an empty shop, but we see you. We will never stop seeing you, Daddy.  We love you.