I know most of you have probably seen the men's shirt template going around the boards - so popular last year. I decided to try one with our Sarsparilla paper. Did you know that Sarsparilla has that first 'r' in it? Fun facts to know and share - tee hee.Anyway, isn't this cute? I thought it would be nice to add to my card class this Saturday.
We lost my dad three years ago. It seems like yesterday! My dad and I shared a love of chocolate. Our birthdays were two days apart, so we also shared our birthday celebrations! Although this is a fuzzy, blurry photo, I thought it was time that I looked at it and reminisced a bit. This was our last birthday together. We are in my mom's house. That is me beside my dad, with my cute mom standing there holding the cake. It was chocolate through and through!
I also made homemade chocolate-covered cherries for my dad that day. When we were kids, Santa always left a box of chocolate-covered cherries under the tree for my dad! Then in
the late 70's he had his first heart attack....no more chocolate-covered cherries. Santa refused to bring them for the next 30 years.
Well. I knew that this would be my dad's last birthday. Now, if you can't have something that you really love for your last birthday.......then why bother, right? So I bucked convention - and mom - and made these candies just for him. Put them in little candy cups in a pretty little box. You should have seen his face! I was so proud that I was able to put a smile on his face!
Our last moments together also revolved around chocolate - what else! He had been on Hospice care at home for about a week. I was cooking roast beef....Jamaican pork....whatever I could think of to take over to the house to get him to eat. He had no appetite and just laid in the bed. One day my mom called me at the office. She told me that the Hospice worker said it was time to take him to the Hospice House and that an ambulance was on its way. I ran out of the office and got to the house before the ambulance did.
My son knows, because I have told him, that when I am ready to go, I want him to give me some chocolate. That may sound trite and shallow to some of you, but I hope most of you understand and give yourself the freedom to enjoy something you really love when the time comes. So anyway, my dad wasn't talking, just really into himself. I asked him if he wanted some chocolate. He looked up at me and gently nodded his head. My mom went to the freezer and pulled out a Dove ice cream thing - vanilla inside with chocolate outside, sort of like those chocolate-dipped vanilla cones, but square. I held it up to his lips and he ate about half of it.
Little did I know that this Dove bar would be his last meal. We all (mom, Jeannie, Teresa, Hughie and Alan) stayed with him night and day for a couple of days, till the end. Friends came and went. My dad left us. But he left me with a love for chocolate.
I have to stop now. If you still have your dad, make this Father's Day extra special. You never know how many more you will have!
Sweet dreams,
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7 comments:
Love the card, Deb! That plaid is perfect for the shirt.
I love your story more even if it has me in tears. My dad loved chocolate, too. He died in his sleep the day after my 44th birthday. It will be 12 years in August. I miss him like the dickens and always will. After he died, we found four Almond Joy wrappers under the seat of his pickup. He was diabetic in the last years of his life, so Mom was pretty stingy with the sweet stuff. I laughed when I saw those wrappers. Knowing my dad, he ate all four of them in one sitting. Good for him! And good for you for feeding your dad that last Dove bar. Thanks for sharing.
oh Deb, I can't see to type. That is such a sweet memory. Now I understand your love of Chocolate. Hey, pray for me, I have a job interview with our school board this morning. Got to run get gas and get home for a shower. Can;'t stop on my way, you know how hot it is out there ALREADY and it is only 8:30 and the weather man says it is going to get hotter. It's only JUNE for heaven sake.
What a heartfelt post! I so feel like you are speaking directly to me in our writing. Thanks for sharing your memory.
Thanks for posting over at Verve Stamps Project Parade. Just another poster there, but I like to see the whole parade. You're right, you never know when it will be their/your last with the ones you love. Thanks for the reminder.
Oh, goodness! Your heartfelt memories totally made me cry. Sounds like you had a very special dad. My grandpa loved those chocolate covered cherries, too and had a heart attack so he wasn't supposed to have them anymore. But I would always sneak him one at Christmas dinner when Grandma wasn't looking! He passed on about 5 years ago, but every time I see a chocolate covered cherry I think of him. Thanks for sharing your project and your story.
What a sweet story. I'm so glad that you were chosen as a winner in the project parade!!
What a bitterseweet story!! I lost my father 3 years ago and know the process of death. So glad you were able to share the chocolate with him. What a great card....love the plaid shirt on the nestie!!
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