Dear Mike,

Dear Mike,

I know this letter belongs here because my heart says so, but I don’t know what belongs in it.

You left your earthly form on Saturday morning and most of us found out about it the day after. It came as a shock to me as I can not remember the last time I actually saw you. I pray that you have found peace as you made your transition and you were without pain physical or emotional.

You have been through a lot in the last few years. You lost your leg to diabetes when I was pregnant with Madelyn; you have continued to struggle with that disease as you went through life learning a new center of balance and having to depend on others for the basic needs. I think you went through this as a warning to others; there are several of us with parents at high risk for the same things and your errors make us look at our families that much harder and push back a little more with them.

Over the years you were made the butt of a joke or two but I think that is the reason you will live forever in so many minds instead of becoming one of those dads that just fades into the past quietly without mention. I remember those trips down the road looking for that little pick up of yours and later for your new vehicle. I remember you laying on the floor of  the old house sorting quarters before you went up to the gas station to get two sunkist orange sodas.

I remember your love for the Packers and how you would wear that hat on game days. I remember your love for the flag and how you always made sure it was hanging the right way off of the porch of your old house. I remember you making yourself chicken noodle soup and then trying to convince me after the fact that you were allergic to it with that goofy look on your face.

So I still don’t know what belongs in this letter but it is now written. If I hadn’t just given up pop I would go out and get an orange sunkist in your honor, but I will root for the Packers unless they are playing one of my two teams (then it will just be another by week for all concerned).

I promise I will make an effort to be there for your family despite the fact I have to miss your final farewell today. I send my sincerest regrets to them, but sometimes you need to just lean harder on your family in times like this although my phone will be on when I’m not trapped at work. I have some ideas in mind to do for them as well.

May you have already found peace and a life without pain.

Sincerely,

Jennifer