It is with immense sadness in which I write this post. My father, Robert, passed in the wee hours today. Unexpectedly and in mere moments, his life hung in the balance. He’d been unsteady on his feet for quite some time now, and had begun to use his walker much more frequently.
Monday night he fell and hit his head, resulting in a hematoma for which there was no surgery or magic pill to cure.
I’m only posting this because in return for all of the blog/vlog teasing my dad took, on the flip side, he deserves public recognition for the man he was, I hope I’ll do him justice with the following…
I’ve joked a million and two times about my parents and their seniors gone wild behavior–and I wasn’t lying. They drove each other nuts, and me as an end result. However, I’ve often forgotten in my snark to mention how devoted he was to me as a daughter.
I was his princess. It’s that simple. He was who loved to watch me compete in pageants, and primarily the reason I continued to participate. Hard as this will hit you, I didn’t enjoy them nearly as much as I enjoyed the pleasure he took in a good tiara coup 
My dad was who first interested me in ballroom dancing, long before there was ever a DWTS and it was totally not cool to tell anyone about. He often joked back in the day, he and mom could really “cut a rug.” I was sure he meant they cut it whilst they wrestled each other to the ground, but I think he meant they seriously rocked a dance floor He was who taught me my first of many waltz’s, and he was who drove me back and forth to my endless dance lessons, watched every recital like it was my first and attended every play I’ve ever been in.
In later years, when my marriage ended, he was who sat me down and finally made me to let go. Freedom is just around the corner, Princess, he said, and he was right. He was who came to this strange land called Texas to set up camp when things got so tight in my parent’s retirement village home I was sitting up to sleep so the boys had beds. He was also the first to offer up his bed to me when we invaded their space.
And just recently, he told me how proud he was of my writing success when reflecting upon how far I’d come since my divorce.
My dad and I were very different people. He knew it. I knew it. My folks don’t much get my sense of humor, so when my dad laughed at a joke of mine, I knew it was genuine. He was quiet, cranky and one of the most impatient men I’ve ever known, but the one thing I knew without a shadow of a doubt, was that he loved me despite our very different personalities. Because I’m adopted, he always used to use the hokey phrase that he and my mother had “chosen me” and it made me more special than everyone else to them. I used to roll my eyes back when, but I finally fully understood those words when I adopted my son.
My dad inspired many things in me, but today, looking back, there are some memories that must be paid their proper due.
My dad’s responsible for my love of Lawrence Welk and all those crazy bubbles they blew around at each show’s end.
My dad instilled my love of all things musical, most especially Broadway show tunes and Tom Jones.
My dad was who insisted I try all types of food and later in life when he moved in with us, watched Tyler’s Ultimate with me every day. We were fellow foodies, dad and me.
My dad was who held my hand when I first learned to ice skate.
My dad drove me nuts.
But on any given day, I’ve suddenly discovered, being nuts is better than being without.
Today, there’s one less person in the world who loved me without condition, someone that no matter what I did, would without a qualm, visit me in prison
Forever, I’ll miss you, Dad, when two-thirty sharp rolls around and Tyler’s Ultimate’s on. Forever, I’ll miss the gruff tone of your voice when you yell, “Princess!” Forever, I’ll miss the stupid Golf Channel and all those lame checkered pants.
Forever, I’ll miss you.
In your honor, Dad, I wish you deep and abiding peace in your eternal resting place. I wish you The Weather Channel 24/7 with constant updates on snowfall in Siberia. I wish you endless football games with the most awesome satellite reception ever and useless papers to tinker with while you watch. I wish you free of any and all ailments. I wish you an amazing view from all the way up there with stretches of emerald green grass and sandy beaches with palm trees swaying in the warm, tropical breeze. But most of all, I wish you the sweetest of dreams, filled with the warmth and gratitude of my love and our love for you as a family.
Until we meet again, Daddy…
My love always,
Dakota
