In sweet remembrance

I went walking with my neighbor last night in this coat. Does it look familiar sisters? This is my dad's coat. Two more (one in navy and one in blue) hung on the back of the kitchen chairs in my mom's kitchen for as long as I can remember. This type of coat was my dad's favorite to go walking in. They kept the wind out but were also light weight. Jesse said as I left on my walk, "You'd better put on a heavier coat. You are going to get cold." But I knew I'd be warm with the memoriess of my dad.

My twin sister, Carla, has learned to play golf left handed in order to use my dad's clubs. What a wonderful tribute to our dad, the avid golfer. I wonder at times how close she feels to him as she's rounding the greens. I also get a picture of my dad in my head looking down on her as she plays saying "That's my girl."

My sister, Cheryl, keeps a pillow of my dad's in a plastic bag. My dad had a unique scent us girl loved. When Cheryl misses him she pulls out her pillow and feels closer to the father she so dearly loved.

My sister, Karen, has a very old-fashioned camera that belonged to my dad. She has memeries of him taking family pictures with that camera. I wondering when she holds it in her hands if she senses the love my father had for his girls.

Some may say these items are not worth much, but I assure you that they are treasures to my sister's and I.

My mom wears my dad's wedding ring around her neck. A symbol of their love. It is she that I pray for the most. She misses so badly the man with which she spent 48 years.

And this is my dad's chair. It made the trip to PA with us. I rock my baby every day, without fail, in this chair. I often close my eyes and think about all the times my dad held me in this chair. One would think that such memories might be hard to recall. That is not the case for me and my sisters. My dad still held me in his lap up until the day he went into the hospital.

Such sweet reminders of a dear father!!