My Father

Three years ago, my father went to heaven on this day. I still miss him. I like to use the anniversary of his death to think about the good memories that I have with my dad. I grew up calling him Papa.

• My earliest memory is of him is taking the family to an animal park in Upstate New York.
• I remember when I was little, I liked to sit in his recliner and watch TV with him.
• During summers, on his day off, every Wednesday, he would go grocery shopping and take me with him.
• On Wednesday afternoons, he would take me to accordion lessons.
• If I was sick or hurt, he always had some Chinese remedy that made me better. I rarely ever went to the doctor.
• He loved to play ping pong.
• He loved to entertain and have parties at our house.
• He would invite the Chinese waiters to our house to visit and play ping pong.
• On the way to the prom, we stopped by to visit my dad at work so he could see me all dressed up.
• He and my mom drove me to college, 800 miles away, in their camper.
• He always wore a suit and tie to work when I was growing up and looked so handsome.
• He drove me to and from high school whenever I didn’t want to ride the bus.
• He cooked us dinner every day except Tuesday when he went to work early.
• He made bookshelves for me when I moved into my first apartment after college.
• He walked me down the aisle at my wedding.
• He made bookshelves for us when we bought our first house.
• He enjoyed gardening and had a green thumb. Everything he grew did well. 
• They would drive up to SC in the summer to visit us.
• He made worm boxes during a visit when I started to do worm composting.
• We took them on cruises with us and they seemed to really enjoy them.
• He would drive us to the port when we were going on cruises without them.
• He liked to play pool and played at our house and the senior center near his home. 
• He loved to play the card game Scat when we would visit.