In Memory of My Dad

On Sunday I went to my dad's house with my sister to look through some of his belongings with my step-mom. It was so strange being able to see who a person was by the stuff that they had. My dad was a perfectionist and he kept his belongings just so. I wished that instead of us looking through his things and wondering what they were or why he felt the need to keep them, that he was there telling us the stories. He was a great story teller and would laugh so hard remembering the events as if they had just happened.

This is what I decided to keep and why in memory of my dad. It might be a little TMI, but if not, enjoy:

Binoculars (I remember him buying them although I have no idea why. I think it'll be cool using them at future baseball games with my boys and bringing a little piece of my dad along), sailing shoes (at one point in his life he was really interested in sailing so he put me through sailing class. It became something special just between us, like a hobby we could share), his old huge reading glasses from the 80's (whenever I think of my dad as a little girl, I think of him with those glasses, his stonewashed cutoff jean shorts, his feathered hair, and his tanned legs. He was so cool back then!), his Catholic Children's Missal, a large crucifix, and Rosery from when he was an altar boy (in it I found a piece of paper with his own handwriting recording his first communion from 1961. He was about 8 years old), a rubber ducky (I'm not sure why, but he had a rubber ducky collection. It reminds me of him), an old pocket watch (it belonged to his great-great grandfather, Arthur, given to him as a Christmas gift from his parents in 1914), cowboy boots and belt (he thought he was and dressed like a cowboy. Maybe that comes from watching so many old western movies with his dad when he was a little boy), a leather hiking back pack that just reminded me of him, his high school class ring, a purity ring (we made a vow together that I would stay pure and allow him to help me choose my husband. He was so proud and even went out and got a ring for himself to remember our covenant), Magnelite pots (a brand of pots that my grandma swears by), an iron skillet (I bought it for him as a gift because he loved to cook), drinking glasses (they are from my great grandma with real gold on them), a baseball glove and ball with his initials on it, a wallet, a chain link book end (someone specially made for him because he liked that kind of stuff), a pair of wooden gingerbread men with my name on them (they went on my shoe laces as a little girl), a back massager (he used to MAKE me scratch his back and it would gross me out so much because his skin would get in between my nails, so I bought it to get out of scratching his back. It worked for a little while but he would say that nothing could replace a real back scratch), a robe that he wore, and a hat that I bought for him at the Great Wall in China.

I still miss my dad so much, but I'm thankful he was such a lively person and for all the memories he gave us. He was and always will be one of a kind.