Loss in the Family

 

 

As some of you know, there has been a reason I haven’t updated this thing for a few weeks.  My father passed away last week after battling liver cancer ten years ago and then lymphoma for the past year.  He came down with pneumonia and as the chemo from lymphoma took out his already-depressed immune system, he couldn’t fight it anymore.

 

Without getting into everything, he was my best friend and there will be always a hole in my heart.  He was 65 but lived the hell out of those 65 years.  He isn’t sick nor fighting anymore, and is with my mom on the beach with his headphones on, so I am ok with that.  The hardest part is when I reach for the phone to text or call him about some sports thing or to send him a picture of my daughter and knowing he isn’t going to pick up.  Also, as I enjoy the moments of my daughter as she grows up, he won’t be there and she is too young to remember how much he truly loved her and how he tried to spend as much time as he could with her.  I am sad about the times we won’t have at the Clippers or at the ‘Shoe or talking ball, but what kills me is for my daughter to not have that time with her grandpa as she gets older.

 

The support has been great, at times overwhelming as I have to explain what happened to him and how I feel over and over, but if the biggest problem is that too many people care about him and me and my family, then I think I am going to be ok.  He touched so many people and had an effect on just about anyone who ever met him, and that’s all you can ask for.  I will miss him forever, but he couldn’t do the things he loved to do this past month (drink beer, hang with Ella, go to Ohio State games, coach) so he is so much better now.  He will always be here with me and my family.

 

Anyway, I took some time off work so I am catching up with that, and will try to update this thing as much as I can.  For the near future, I may just put up my picks and if I have time, post why and the reaction, but at this point I’m still in the bottom half and will pretty much take the teams I want to win in the games I want to watch.

 

If you read this and have sent me a text or call or came to the service, I can’t thank you enough.  Everyone has been so great and I can’t explain how much it means to have great friends, family and support.  I love you dad.  Tell mom I said hi.