Memento mori
The other day, I found the glasses my father wore on his deathbed. Still visible on the lenses 22 years later are the splashes of the tears he cried during the last hours of his suffering. There was his watch, which I remember I had stopped at the minute of his death at 3:18AM. There was the pajama top he was wearing when he had his heart attack, the store receipt for the very last material thing he ever bought, even his last crossword puzzle...
"Oh Dad..., I miss you so much...," I whispered sadly.
In the box was also a handwritten copy of the eulogy I delivered at his funeral. I remember giving a eulogy, but I didn't recall writing it down. From this day on, I'll never forget it again...
"On behalf of my mother and the rest of the family, I want to thank all of you for attending this memorial today for my father, Edward Shannon.
Each of us here remembers my father in their own special way, and doubtless considers their relationship with him to be a very special gift indeed.
But if you thought it was wonderful to have Ed as your friend, just imagine what it meant to have such a man for a father!
My father's passing is the most painful experience of my life, but my sorrow is tempered by the knowledge that having this man as my father was by far the greatest and most blesséd joy of my life.
You know, Dad wasn't a religious man in any formal sense, but in his own special way, my father was the saintliest man I have ever known. I've never known any man who gave so much love, so freely, to so many.
And if it is true that God is Love, then surely my father walked with God every day of his life -- and will be at His side -- for ever."
I'll remember and love you every day of my life, Dad. Forever and always. Amen...
"Oh Dad..., I miss you so much...," I whispered sadly.
In the box was also a handwritten copy of the eulogy I delivered at his funeral. I remember giving a eulogy, but I didn't recall writing it down. From this day on, I'll never forget it again...
"On behalf of my mother and the rest of the family, I want to thank all of you for attending this memorial today for my father, Edward Shannon.
Each of us here remembers my father in their own special way, and doubtless considers their relationship with him to be a very special gift indeed.
But if you thought it was wonderful to have Ed as your friend, just imagine what it meant to have such a man for a father!
My father's passing is the most painful experience of my life, but my sorrow is tempered by the knowledge that having this man as my father was by far the greatest and most blesséd joy of my life.
You know, Dad wasn't a religious man in any formal sense, but in his own special way, my father was the saintliest man I have ever known. I've never known any man who gave so much love, so freely, to so many.
And if it is true that God is Love, then surely my father walked with God every day of his life -- and will be at His side -- for ever."
I'll remember and love you every day of my life, Dad. Forever and always. Amen...