Día de Muertos

 

"Fundamentally, the message of the Day of the Dead is that the dead don’t have to leave us; that only the ones we forget are truly dead."  -Marcela E. Garcia

Dad, you are not forgotten. As I begin the wastewater unit in ENE 483, you are not forgotten.  As I think each day of your kindness and love, you are not forgotten.  When I talk to Mom, you are not forgotten. When I share photos of us as kids you are not forgotten. No, Dad, we can't see you, but you are with us, each and every day - in the gentle breeze, in the sunshine, in the colored leaves.  Yes, you are with us.

It's been more than a year... since I last wrote

Hi Dad, 

I can't believe it's been more than a year since I last wrote. It's been a crazy 2020, with the pandemic and all.  Since I last wrote, Jeff graduated from MSU (Go Jeff) and got accepted to start a PhD program at Deakin University (Yay, Jeff).  But I'm going to miss that boy (young man, really).  

Mom and Barb survived COVID and Mom made it through surgery yesterday. Thanks for taking care of them!

Well I should go work.  More soon.

Love you, Dad.

Susan

 

Signs

Hi Dad,

I'm reading a book Once More We Saw Stars, the author Jayson Greene wrote, "Seeing signs is about receptivity. You have to learn to be receptive. The spirits, they are always trying to reach us, but they can only do it with little signs." 

Shelley and Phil send me a group of photos that I could upload onto the Ancestry database.  In the photos were several of canoes and sailboats.  The photos made me sad because I lamented that I wished you were around to see these or that we had had these while you are around to see them as I thought you would enjoy seeing them. Mom felt the same way.

But maybe these photos are a sign.  You were always so happy talking about Lake Sebago and canoeing with Uncle Jerry. I can see you sailing on the lake, taking in the wind, gliding along the surface and that makes me happy.  Maybe we have to be receptive.

Love you, Dad,

Susan

Happy Birthday, Dad

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Its been a struggle today - miss you so much.  Hopefully, Aunt Betty made a birthday cake for you and you're celebrating with her, Uncle Jerry, Aunt Gwen and Lou, Uncle Richard, my Grandma and Grandpa, your mom and all others that have gone before you.

 We sent mom flowers yesterday - of course, she shared them with you.  Hope you like them.

Paulette and Noah took Mom out for her birthday celebration! Looks like she really enjoyed her brownie sundae (with chocolate sauce - because that's what you would have also enjoyed)

Here's the link if the video doesn't play:

Mom's birthday celebration

Noah enjoyed his unicorn sundae.  Not sure if he ate the whole thing or not. Notice he's lost his front teeth. Hopefully, the tooth fairy was good to him.

Nothing much else happening here. Spent most the week at work.  Jeff is doing well. The semester started this past Monday and he has five engineering classes - so he's not going to get out of the engineering building much this semester. Simon is doing ok - still dealing with a bad cold.

Well, happy birthday, Dad.

Love you,

Susan

Mom's birthday celebration