Monday, November 22, 2010
Dad: Thanks for everything. Words and space won't allow for all the thoughts going through my mind with your passing. Some of the many things I'm thankful for are: Thanks for teaching me as a teenager the value of hard work and responsibility. Thanks for teaching me how to fish and hunt, and lending advice (even when I didn't ask for it). I used to begrudgingly tell my friends of how my "Dad was always right." You were...I think I can count with one hand how many times I was right. I remember when us kids decided we could hunt small game at -34 degrees and you smiled when we came back home not long after we had left. You don't know how much I miss hearing you puttering around in the bathroom in the AM, before you'd softly call up the stairs letting me know it was time to get up and go hunting. I was always already awake and ready to go, although if I'd had slowed down like you'd said, I woulda been a better hunter earlier in life. Thanks for guiding me in your own way to choose the Air Force over the other branches I was considering. As Mi Suk and I passed Canadaroga Lake on the way back to Delaware, I wished you and I had a chance for one more trip in my boat to see if we could catch anything. I remember I was always the competitor and wanted to catch fish, you were wiser and just simply enjoyed the time on the water. Regardless of what we caught, I always enjoyed your company. I'll never forget when we thought we were gonna get struck by the lightning storm that snuck up on us. I remember the trips to Everett's and the fun we had there. The trips with Mom and you to Howe Caverns, the Adirondack Museum, Lake George, etc., now mean so much more. The trip with John, you and I up at Plattsburgh, or the one where I beached the boat and you laughed so hard. I'll miss the joy of sending you pictures from wherever the Air Force sent Mi Suk and I. I know you enjoyed them nearly as much as I did. I know Cody is missing the conversations you were able to share this summer, and Mi Suk is missing cooking up one of her meals for you. I'll never forget the 1st time she made spaghetti sauce and you asked what the white strips were, to which I replied "potatoes." Turns out you liked them just like I did. Thanks from the depths of our hearts for your love of all of us. You're making Heaven a better place. Mi Suk, Cody, and I miss ya Dad...and we always will.