Today is Thanksgiving and I have a lot to be thankful for! First and foremost I have my family to be thankful for. I have a beautiful daughter who makes me smile every time I look at her and always makes me laugh. I have a wonderful son who is so smart and handsome and brings me so much joy, and who today is celebrating his sixth birthday, and I have the most beautiful caring wife in the world who has made my life complete and has made every day worth living. I am a very lucky man. But these are not the only things that I have to be thankful for. I have a wonderful mother, father, sister, in-laws, and extended family that marring my wife have given me. I am even thankful for Glen Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, FOX news, Sarah Palin, The Democrats and Republicans, the election of President Barack Obama and all the craziness that is involved with running this country, for with out these people I would have nothing to write about. But this post is not about them. This post is an unusually personal post because of what day it is today and because what my family is experiencing that sometimes makes it difficult to find the thanks in this day. This post is about my father. Without getting into too many details, my father’s time on this earth is limited. I know it, my family knows it…and he knows it. At times like this it is sometimes difficult to look him in the face and think to myself what here could I possibly be thankful for. To see what he is going through is the most difficult thing to watch. To see what my family is going through is equally difficult. But these times and this process that my father, myself, and my family is going through has produced something that I did not expect. It’s often said that we should tell the people closest to us how we feel because life is short and if you do not say something now you may never get the chance to. I have been shown exactly how true this is. Even though my father is going through something that I should never wish anyone to go through, at the same time he has been given a gift. Maybe a gift he did not want but a gift none the less. He has been given the gift of being able to tell some of the loved ones around him how he feels about them before his soul moves on. And in this time I have heard him say some of the sweetest things, things that I have never heard him say before. They say that at times like this the person becomes uncensored. They say what is on there mind and while at times it has made for interesting discussion, but it also has let out a level of sincerity and tenderness that I have seldom heard from my father. I believe that these things are private between my father and his loved ones so I will keep what was said private. Let’s just say that while I feel sad at the potential loss of my father, I am thankful that I have been given this time to truly tell him how I feel about him and what he has done for me. I feel blessed to have heard him say how important the ones around him are to him, and I feel lucky to have this father in my life for as long as he has been. No matter how long a person lives, it is never long enough. There is always more to do, more to say, more to experience. We are never ready to say goodbye, but having been given the opportunity to tell my father how much he is loved is something I will always cherish. For that I am thankful. So on this Thanksgiving, tell the ones around you how important they are to you. Tell them how you feel about them. And gives thanks that you have them in your life. I love you dad.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Brian,
First, I would like to say that my husband, Burton, and I want to extend our deepest sympathies on the loss of your father. Also, I would like to add that what your wrote on your website about your father was beautiful and heartfelt. Thank you for sharing your feelings. I am Dorothy Weinberg (formerly Dorothy Field). Your father and I were first cousins, and I got to know him very well on a daily basis when he and his parents lived with our Grandmother on the first floor of our apartment building in West Rogers Park. I saw him on a daily basis for at least seven years before he got married to your mother. He was always friendly, and I admired his great sense of humor. We know the good memories of your father will remain with you and your family always.
We are visiting our son,David, in Clearwater, FL and were sorry we could not be there last week. We talked to your Mom and told her how sorry we were for the loss of our dad.
We will continue to read your postings on your website. Our email is
dorothyaweinberg@sbcglobal.net.
Take care and be well.
Dorothy and Burton
Posted by: Dorothy Weinberg | January 02, 2010 at 08:24 PM