12 months.
365 days.
8760 hours.
525600 minutes.
Just yesterday.
I could care less about the scientific facts. Tomorrow may be June 28th 2014, but in my mind and heart is feels like just yesterday.
How can this possibly be true? How on earth has the time gone on as if nothing happened? So much has happened.
It has been one year since my girls lost their Granddad. Since my sister and I lost our Dad. Since my mom lost her husband and best friend. But that day we lost so much more.
See my dad was not your average Joe. My dad could do it all. Its true. He was like a male Mary Poppins I swear. I can guarantee with 100% certainty that anyone who knew him and who may be reading this could attest it to be true. When I was a kid if I ever had a problem I couldn't fix on my own I would call on my dad, well because he was a dad, and dad's can do anything when your little. Well he was like any other dad and would help with whatever I needed. It was only as I got older did I realize he was way above average.
My dad was the stereo typical dad in the beginning that worked all day and come home to a meal Mom cooked. He took great care of us and was there when we needed it. Coaching baseball, teaching us to ride bikes. But little things began to change. His true superhero cape was about to fly.
When we were young, in a family situation much like my own current one, we were not struggling, but not winning the lotto either. So when we asked for a Nintendo, we got something different in response. My 'average' dad built us one. Using an old tv, a floppy disk drive, codes and a joystick. It wasn't your traditional Nintendo, but my sister and I enjoyed endless hours of playing Mario. He even figured out how to get us infinite men.
Or how about when we went on vacation to the states in 1991. The fact that my dad, without help, managed to hook up a small black and white television in the back of our blue Pontiac Sunbird is pretty incredible. Only slightly dumbed down by the fact it was velcro-ed to the seat and the antenna had to be locked inside the car when we left it.
My dad was an inventor.
What about the day we got our first Wok. I didn't see my dad cook much more than on the bbq but after that, I think we ate stir fry and dad cooked 90% of the time.
So dad was a chef.
Maybe when dad would do work on the house. I've seen him drywall, paint, build walk ways and stairs, build bookshelves and decks, Install doors and flooring. Plumbing and electrical and more things than I could think of.
So dad was a contractor.
But all along he worked on our many vehicles. When I was old enough to realize, he was the one who changed our winter tires, our oil, our wipers. He was the one who fixed our brakes, our spark plugs and our rusty paint jobs. He taught us how to do most of these things as well. And if he ever wasn't there, he would be on call to help us out.
So he was a mechanic and CAA.
He helped with our taxes.
Accountant.
He did our hair and painted our nails.
Stylist.
He listened to our problems.
Therapist.
He helped us learn more things than I could ever right down with all the paper, and all the ink, and all the words in the world. And he is still helping us learn.
Teacher.
So here I am, wondering. Wondering why after all those, months and all those days, all those hours and all those minutes why I still can't believe he wasn't here just yesterday. I suppose someone who lived a thousand lifetimes in his short one would be pretty hard to forget.
So while I may have wished that Aaron learned a little more from my dad about all the things he knew so much about, I realize he did teach them to someone. He taught them to me.
He taught them to me so that when kenley wanted to be a my little pony for halloween and we didn't have money to spend on it, I made one.
Inventor.
He showed me how to make an egg over easy to perfection.
Chef.
I have painted our house, stained our deck, resurfaced our cabinets. I haggled when buying our minivan and shopped kijiji for tires. He let me learn by experimenting with new hair products.
Contractor. Mechanic. Stylist. Well you get the picture.
It's always said that one day you will grown up to be just like your parents. Well with the Mom that I have and the Superhero Dad that taught me so much, I should be so lucky. My dad was anything but average. He truly is my Superhero.
-Natalie
"I will miss watching T.V. with you, but you are always close in distance and in my heart." -My Dad
(written in a note given to me when I first moved out of my parents house.)
365 days.
8760 hours.
525600 minutes.
Just yesterday.
I could care less about the scientific facts. Tomorrow may be June 28th 2014, but in my mind and heart is feels like just yesterday.
How can this possibly be true? How on earth has the time gone on as if nothing happened? So much has happened.
It has been one year since my girls lost their Granddad. Since my sister and I lost our Dad. Since my mom lost her husband and best friend. But that day we lost so much more.
See my dad was not your average Joe. My dad could do it all. Its true. He was like a male Mary Poppins I swear. I can guarantee with 100% certainty that anyone who knew him and who may be reading this could attest it to be true. When I was a kid if I ever had a problem I couldn't fix on my own I would call on my dad, well because he was a dad, and dad's can do anything when your little. Well he was like any other dad and would help with whatever I needed. It was only as I got older did I realize he was way above average.
My dad was the stereo typical dad in the beginning that worked all day and come home to a meal Mom cooked. He took great care of us and was there when we needed it. Coaching baseball, teaching us to ride bikes. But little things began to change. His true superhero cape was about to fly.
When we were young, in a family situation much like my own current one, we were not struggling, but not winning the lotto either. So when we asked for a Nintendo, we got something different in response. My 'average' dad built us one. Using an old tv, a floppy disk drive, codes and a joystick. It wasn't your traditional Nintendo, but my sister and I enjoyed endless hours of playing Mario. He even figured out how to get us infinite men.
Or how about when we went on vacation to the states in 1991. The fact that my dad, without help, managed to hook up a small black and white television in the back of our blue Pontiac Sunbird is pretty incredible. Only slightly dumbed down by the fact it was velcro-ed to the seat and the antenna had to be locked inside the car when we left it.
My dad was an inventor.
What about the day we got our first Wok. I didn't see my dad cook much more than on the bbq but after that, I think we ate stir fry and dad cooked 90% of the time.
So dad was a chef.
Maybe when dad would do work on the house. I've seen him drywall, paint, build walk ways and stairs, build bookshelves and decks, Install doors and flooring. Plumbing and electrical and more things than I could think of.
So dad was a contractor.
But all along he worked on our many vehicles. When I was old enough to realize, he was the one who changed our winter tires, our oil, our wipers. He was the one who fixed our brakes, our spark plugs and our rusty paint jobs. He taught us how to do most of these things as well. And if he ever wasn't there, he would be on call to help us out.
So he was a mechanic and CAA.
He helped with our taxes.
Accountant.
He did our hair and painted our nails.
Stylist.
He listened to our problems.
Therapist.
He helped us learn more things than I could ever right down with all the paper, and all the ink, and all the words in the world. And he is still helping us learn.
Teacher.
So here I am, wondering. Wondering why after all those, months and all those days, all those hours and all those minutes why I still can't believe he wasn't here just yesterday. I suppose someone who lived a thousand lifetimes in his short one would be pretty hard to forget.
So while I may have wished that Aaron learned a little more from my dad about all the things he knew so much about, I realize he did teach them to someone. He taught them to me.
He taught them to me so that when kenley wanted to be a my little pony for halloween and we didn't have money to spend on it, I made one.
Inventor.
He showed me how to make an egg over easy to perfection.
Chef.
I have painted our house, stained our deck, resurfaced our cabinets. I haggled when buying our minivan and shopped kijiji for tires. He let me learn by experimenting with new hair products.
Contractor. Mechanic. Stylist. Well you get the picture.
It's always said that one day you will grown up to be just like your parents. Well with the Mom that I have and the Superhero Dad that taught me so much, I should be so lucky. My dad was anything but average. He truly is my Superhero.
-Natalie
"I will miss watching T.V. with you, but you are always close in distance and in my heart." -My Dad
(written in a note given to me when I first moved out of my parents house.)