Friday, October 31, 2014

Going Through A Loved Ones Things

As a lot of you may know, my father passed away suddenly and unexpectedly about a month ago. Thank you all for your condolences. I know my Dad is in Heaven with my son Mason and it was a joyous reunion.

My Dad was 61. Fairly young still, but heart disease does that to you, I guess. Especially when you don't take care of yourself. And my Dad was a very private man. He was single and lived alone. My brother and I discovered so much about him when we went through his apartment, and gathered up all his belongings. One of the main things we discovered was the history of heart disease in his medical files, that no one knew about, not even my Grandmother. And he had this issue for about 20 years! We always kind of expected it, high blood pressure, high cholesterol. But he never mentioned it once. Though he did touch on the subject of Type 2 Diabetes. But a "Cardiac Event" is what he passed away from. It's odd the things you learn about a loved one once they have passed.

While going through my father's things, we discovered his love and pride in his country and his service to the United States in the Air Force. Twenty-one years in the service, a proud patriot. We discovered his love for knives and hunting and fishing. Also, we discovered he collected 1980's vintage percolated coffee machines! We discovered, much to our delight, that he saved every card, every picture, every thank you from his grandkids! That touched our hearts immensely.

I personally found that you can learn a lot from a person by reviewing their bank statements. Nothing out of the ordinary for my Dad. Gas, groceries, bills, ATM withdrawals, the occasional take-out and bar tabs. Nothing extravagant and nothing shocking. Though of course, I did not expect there to be. But it got me thinking, what would my bank statement say about me if I passed away? What would it reveal?

Turns out, not much different than my Dad, or the ordinary every day person. Bills. Bills. Bills. Walmart. Gas. Groceries. Fast food, occasionally. Very rarely a ATM withdrawal. Bills. Did I mention bills? Yep. Isn't that boring? I don't know. It's normal. It's life. What else should my bank statement say? Cruise line tickets for 3 to Fiji? Bahahaha! 

All I know is that my Dad lived a good, clean life, and I am living a good, clean life. Good or bad, it is what it is.

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Happy Palm Sunday

~Hayley