Tag Archives: Dad

Found Items: Happy Birthday Dad

Family, Memories, Things, ,

My mom must have kept all these letters and notes — typical. Here’s a note written sometime after we moved to Alexandria.

Dad --

I am really sorry for being so late in sending you a card. Believe me -- I had quite a case of the guilts -- especially after talking to you. I have no excuse except procrastination.

Dean and I went to Annapolis, MD and got you this shot glass (they didn't have any martini pitchers). Hope it got there in one piece.

Well, the stove is hooked up, the dishwasher and garbage disposal are ready for an electrician to get electricity to them. and I've used the washer already. We will probably wallpaper ("ooh ick" you say?) over the weekend, then paint. The kitchen will be done soon! We will send pictures.

How was your birthday dinner? And the "golden ball" afterward at the Moose? Hope it was fun.

We ordered cable tonight. Our antenna was trashed in the most recent snowfall.

I've also enclosed my most recent school photograph. I don't have a use for it. Feel free to lose it! I'm looking my age -- wrinkles and all!

Even though I am a grown up and married, I get so lonesome for you guys sometimes it hurts.

Love,
Dona

I don’t remember writing or sending this, but I remember the shot glass — it had a Naval theme. I remember working on the kitchen in our first house. We put in very late nights wallpapering, I remember that.

A Dream

Death, Dreams, People

I’m still getting used to the time change and have been getting up way too early. I took a nap today to make up for my lack of sleep. I feel like I may have drifted off and woke up several times until I finally fell asleep long enough to dream.

It was one of those dreams that seemed very real. I was in Elgin with my parents. I kept kissing the top of my dad’s head, happy he was with us. He seemed happy that I was happy. See, he’d died and then a month later he was alive again. Alive and well — no dementia. Alive and kind — no alcoholism.

Later he was driving me somewhere and I said to him, “Dad, you know that what happened to you has never happened to anyone ever, right?” He asked me what I meant and I told him that we thought he was lost to us, but he was back. And fixed.

I woke up then and it took me a while to remember that I was on vacation in Olympia and that my dad was, in fact, still dead. I also, in those few waking seconds remembered that I’d dreamed this same sort of dream many times, but never remembered them.

I don’t really know what it means, although I have a clue that I will keep to myself for now.

Dad and me, circa 1958

Happy Birthday Dad

Events, People,

We’ll raise a glass to you tonight. Hope you’re enjoying your afterlife.

My dad was born 93 years ago today. Or according to him, tomorrow. He always claimed that he was born just after midnight but the doctor who delivered him was drunk and wrote the wrong date on the birth certificate. Also, according to my dad, he wrote the wrong middle name too. It was supposed to be Manville instead of Manuel. I have no idea if any of that is accurate, but that’s what he claimed. I also don’t know if I am remembering it correctly.

Nonetheless, March 7th is the day we always celebrated his birthday.