Sometimes it is those little things in life that can just drive you crazy when you are going through them but oddly enough those seem to be the things that you miss the most when that special loved one is not around anymore. I could give you dozens of things that used to drive me nuts that my Dad did. He used to slurp his soup, clang his spoon against the bowl when he ate ice cream, wore white tube socks with dress shoes and shorts, used to say “Give em’ hell” to me all the time (I think he actually knew I hated that). But you know in a strange way, I miss those things because those are the kinds of things that made him who he was.
I am sure everyone has things about their loved one that drives them nuts. The real challenge is to appreciate those things in that person not let it drive you to the point of insanity. Those things or “quirks” as people call them are what makes life not only interesting but worth living because they are so wonderful. Most people just don’t realize it at the time until it is too late.
One of the things my Dad was famous for was getting up early. He used to get up at about 5 AM and he was responsible for getting us out of bed in the morning for school. His solution to this was to flick the upstairs light on and off what seemed like forever and then he yelled every morning, “Time to get up.” My sisters and I used to dread hearing that voice because you always want that 5 more precious minutes of sleep you can’t get. But for as much as it annoyed me, guess what I am writing about now? It was really funny to think about that now, because I can still hear his voice, as if it was yesterday.
My point is try not to confuse annoying and irritating with endearing and caring. They might actually turn into the same thing one day…
Always a friend to listen…
Eric Tomei-author I Miss My Dad…
Join our growing I Miss My Dad community on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/imissmydad Come and see what we are building together!
Tags: grief, hope