Tears

Hello all,

Have you ever just been sitting and started to cry? Maybe a phrase or a smell caught your attention and triggered a memory that was so acute that tears were the only appropriate response? I am having a lot of those moments since dad passed. Simple things like Iowa State making the NCAA tournament made me cry. Hearing my daughter wish Grandpa sweet dreams in Heaven made me cry too. I am very proud of my little four year old girl.

One day earlier this week she found me in the kitchen crying. I had just finished reading a poem that Mansfield-Hertz's funeral home had sent home with each of us. After reading the first line, I was in tears. It stated that "Dad had made it to Heaven." After that I was a mess. My daughter must have heard my sobs from the living room for she came in to check on me. She asked me why I was crying and did I stub my toe. I let her know that she was right - I was crying, but I didn't stub my toe. Daddy was just sad that his dad had gone to Heaven. Ali hugged my legs and ran back to Jen and my room to let Jen know I was sad. I could hear my wife talk to Ali about my sadness. What happened next shows what a truly remarkable child I have. Ali returned to the kitchen with a toy. She handed it to me and let me know that it made it "all better" for her. What a perfect angel she is.

I'm not a poet like my wife or a writer like either of my sisters, but I have always managed put words together to express myself. I hope this entry has done that.

I miss you dad.

-Andy