Saying Goodbye

My Daddy passed away this past Saturday. 

The week has been a blur, 

feeling more like five weeks than five days. 

You can read my letter to him over at Long Hollow, but I decided to post the handful of photos I took at the service here.

Daddy was in the Navy in WWII.

A Color Guard escorted his casket and presented my mom with an American Flag.

And then a lone trumpeter played "Day is Done". 

Perfect.

Each of the pallbearers - my kids, niece, nephew, and cousins - wore red carnations, which they placed on top of the casket, one by one.

As each one stepped forward, in my mind I saw a younger version of them, playing with my Daddy, and it made me smile.

Back home, we made sure to give this skinny little squirrel some peanuts, because that's what Daddy would have done.

The next morning, my son stepped up to Daddy's place at the stove and fixed us a huge breakfast with bacon, eggs, and biscuits my sweet friend Rae left in a cooler on our doorstep.

Despite the huge cholesterol-laden breakfast, the kids and I stopped for dinner at Whataburger, because that was one of Daddy's favorite places.

Rest in peace, Daddy. You deserve it.

(But I am going to miss you.)

To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.
 ~ Thomas Campbell