A Son's Tribute: Love, Care, and Resilience

My dad fell a lot. He had scars all over his body from his many falls, especially along his legs and his back. Sometimes, it was difficult to look at him without his shirt or his pants on. I like to think that each scar did not mark a time he had fallen, but a time he had gotten up. My dad, he was a fighter. For years when I called him from abroad and asked him how he was doing, he'd often reply, I'm taking it a day at a time. My dad, he had a lot of regrets. As the years went on, he spoke more prominently of them. In the last years, he became obsessed with them. If only or I should've, he would say in almost every conversation, and it made me sad. [00:25:55] (44 seconds)  #ScarsAndStrength

My dad was many roles in my life. He was father. He was a, sometimes a son or a kid to me. I don't know about son, but a kid. Yeah. But he was always my friend. He taught me what it was like to give care and to love and to accept another without expecting anything in return. And it was very easy to share space with one another, to be together. He was so easily contented. He was so full of life just to be happy to be given another day. He was a big inspiration for everyone who knew him, how hard he fought both with his friends and family, but also the the neighbors who lived in the just saw my dad riding his trike. They would be so inspired by him. They would always tell me your dad is an inspiration to us. [00:27:09] (63 seconds)  #DadMyInspiration

The word of God brought such a peace to him. I thank God for his companionship and friendship with my dad during such isolating and difficult years. My dad loved God very much. My dad loved life. He loved God's creations, his plants, and all of his animals. One night, we came home together and something moved as we opened the door. I looked past the kitchen, and there was a mama skunk in the room with numerous pairs of glowing eyes underneath the desk. And dad, he got on all fours, he yelled, skunky, get out of here. Apparently, they had been bunking together with him for some time. [00:21:15] (37 seconds)  #FaithfulNatureLover

My favorite place for my dad to fall asleep was in the car when I took him for an errand or to an appointment. I would drive playing music. He often did not approve of the lyrics, and he would drift away at peace. One time he fell asleep while One Two Step by Sierra was playing. With his eyes closed and the music blasting, he spoke quietly as if in a meditative state. One, two step. One, two step. I had to laugh. He was a great napper. My dad, he was a horrible sleeper though. His restless leg syndrome and his difficulties with temperature regulation caused by the disease resulted him in him waking up frequently throughout the night. [00:19:23] (40 seconds)  #CarNapsAndRestlessNights

My dad, he could not tie his shoes, but he would climb a tree to pick some fruit. To my dad, any tree that bear fruit was fair claim to be picked. So I would drive around town with my dad on errands, and my dad would like, stop there. There's there's fruit. And I would have to go and pick some random person's tree. Like, dad, this is illegal. He's like, no. No. No. No. I I remember very much so I don't know how many of y'all have watched Breaking Bad, but I compare my relationship with my dad very much like he's Heisenberg who had the fruit, and I was Jesse who just had to deliver the fruit. [00:23:01] (48 seconds)  #TreeClimbingDad

My dad did not understand the concept of time difference for all the years that he was in close proximity with Germany and had kids living in in Europe. He somehow never remembered the time difference. He would call me often at three or four in the morning. The times I picked up and told him the time, he was shocked, every single time. My dad was not an organized man. If I had a dollar for every time we went on an errand, one errand, that became three or four along the way, or if I had a dollar for every time we left the house and had to go back to pick up something he had forgotten, well, I'd be doing okay. [00:24:33] (41 seconds)  #ChronicallyUnorganizedDad