Life is a Precious Gift

Before I begin, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for all the love, support and understanding that my family and I have received over the last few days, months and year.  Losing a loved one is never easy, but to lose them suddenly and without warning is a difficult thing to wrap your mind around.  There are still days where I know we all find it hard to believe.  My dad was an extremely happy go-lucky man, with an infectious smile and positive nature.  While I know our time together was cut too short, he would expect nothing less of us than to go on and live life to the absolute fullest.  So even on our roughest days, it's that knowledge, along with our amazing support network (like a simple daily text of a purple heart) that have kept us going these last 12 months.  We truly cannot thank you enough!

Dad was an extremely humble and generous man.  He believed in helping others in anyway he could.  He donated blood on a regular basis ... we always joked with him that he just did it for the cookies that they gave afterward, but we knew it was something that he felt very strongly about and continued up until the end.  Last year, he reached the amazing milestone of just under 15 gallons of blood donated during his 217 visits.  I learned from the Red Cross that each time he donated it saved at least 3 lives.  :)  

Dad was also an organ donor.  This should come as no surprise considering the above paragraph.  Lots of people are organ donors.  :)  But if you're like me, you really didn't think about the magnitude of what that actually means when they ask you at the DMV to check that little box.  Of course, you want to be able to help someone in need, but at that moment when they were asking me, I know I wasn't processing the importance of what I was signing up to do.  Until now....

When Dad passed, they took him to a hospital in Atlanta where they went through the surgical process of determining which organs, tissues, etc. that were viable to help save someone's life.  For some this may sound, morbid or even disrespectful but consider the thousands of families whose loved ones are just waiting on a list, hoping to receive a call that their prayers have been answered and a new heart has become available.  

My dad was an avid runner most of his life, he took great care of himself and made sure to take his vitamins everyday.  :)  But you don't always think of those things when you are grieving a loss.  It wasn't until my mom received the letter from the Organ Donation Network, that we realized that while he may have had a stroke ... the rest of his body was in amazing health.  He was able to help over 28 people!  In reading through the list, it appears the only major organ not viable was obviously his brain.  I won't go into great detail of everything else that they were able to use, but the Network stated that he was one of the healthiest people they had ever seen!  So even though we are grieving his loss, there are 28 people out there that are happy for having received a gift like no other.  

Now I realize that not everyone feels comfortable with the idea of organ donation and I respect that.  It's a personal choice that only you can make.  However I do encourage you to do some research and become more informed.  We as a family have learned a lot from this experience.  I know, for me, it has brought a greater understanding of what the phrase "the gift of life" actually means.  And simply putting an X in that box at the DMV means way more than just an X .... it's a privilege.  My dad was a remarkable human being, a kind and generous man... always thinking of others.  We couldn't be more proud of him and the amazing gift that he gave to those 28+ people ... Life.

XOXO
N

For the Love of the Cards & My Dad

I realize the 2017 baseball season is coming to an end, but I've been saving this post for just the right time.  As the one year anniversary of my dad's passing is days away, it seemed only fitting to share it now.  This past September would have been his 64th birthday, and as I have mentioned before ~ my dad was a die-hard St. Louis Cardinals fan.  So my mom thought it would be a great way to honor him by having our entire family attend a game.  

My beautiful Mom and her kids ~ one who was very thankful that she didn't have to stand on a step ladder or ledge this time.  :)

And with the grandkids, of course...

One of Dad's favorite things was to attend games where there were special items given out before the game ~ especially bobble heads.  This particular game was free Build-a-Bear Day, so each of the kids got a special dog to treasure.  

Growing up, each of our summer vacations always had to include a few things: an amusement park of some kind, a zoo and a baseball game.   My brother T was a huge baseball fan.  He collected pennants from every game we ever went to.  Eventually they became the decorative border around his room.  So of course, we had visited Busch Stadium before but it has been some time.  I will admit it's quite impressive!

And it had a spectacular view of the St Louis Arch!

Because we arrived early to make sure that the kids received a Build-a-Bear (as Dad always did for his beloved bobble heads aka as soon as the gates open), Mom took us across the street from the stadium to visit Cardinal Nation.  Due to Dad's need to get to most of the games early, my parents would often spend time here having a drink or sharing a meal before the game.  It's housed in the center of Ballpark Village and is home to several restaurants, bars and memorabilia.  A great place for any Cardinal fan to hang out.

Now before I go any further, I have to say that while my dad was a Cardinal fan ... I am not.  I am a Cubs fan!  We would always have friendly banter back and forth about the Cubs vs the Cards.  Usually, it didn't matter as the Cards were always better ... until last year of course.  In fact, that is ironically what the very last text I received from my dad was about.  The Cubs had just won the National League, so I sent him a screenshot of the Championship Banner.  All in good fun, only to receive the following message "Humm ...That is NOT a World Series Banner.  Good Luck."  :)  It wasn't long after that I felt compelled to send a text to his phone (knowing he would still get it in heaven) with a screenshot of the the Cubs World Series Championship Banner with the words "Now THAT IS a World Series Banner!  Love You."  So after hearing all of that, you can imagine my dilemma when my Mom suggested this idea in the first place.  Of course I wanted to honor Dad ... but did it have to be at a Cardinals game wearing a Cardinals shirt, no less!?!  Well obviously I made the sacrifice, as did my sister's boyfriend T who is a Royals fan.  The things we do for the love of another...  :)   However, I couldn't very well go into Cardinal territory without any protective gear on, so to speak.  It was my little way of saying, "Yeah Dad, I'm here.  But I came prepared."  

I will admit it was a good game.  But even more fun to just all be together.

Of course, no baseball game is complete without snacks.  Yes, we had popcorn, hot dogs, nachos and Cracker Jacks.  But the highlight was this helmet full of at least 50+ donuts (my nephew P's favorite thing in the whole world!)  You could have it just plain or add various toppings to it.  P & C were the brave ones to try this monstrosity.  Talk about sugar overload!  (FYI, neither finished it.  Thankfully... LOL!)

Midway through the game, my sister told us all to watch one of the signs ... confused we kept a close eye out not sure what to expect until to our surprise... a special message appeared wishing Dad a Happy Birthday!  There were no words ....

The Cardinals won!  Which meant fireworks, that I have to admit was pretty cool...

Then the kids got to have some fun!  After the field was cleared, they allowed the kids down to run around the bases with the Mascot, Fredbird.  L opted out, but Miss B & P ran like they has just hit the winning home run!

All in all it was a great day, even for this Cubs fan.  We all got to spend a day together honoring a man whom we love, in a way we know would have made him happy.  Especially since they won.  :)  Now, Mom is not one to let special occasions go without some unique way to commemorate it.  So as we were all standing about to say our goodbyes and hit the road.  She handed us all ornaments that she had made along with one of our favorite pictures of Dad.  My mom is one extraordinary lady!!  

I'm so glad that we all got to do this.  I know Dad was there with us, cheering on his Cardinals enjoying his time with the whole family.  Now while I might not be a fan of his team, I sure am a fan of him.  So even though their season is done, I will say this, once & only once, just for you Dad ~ Go Cards!!

XOXO

N