Goodbye, Daddy!

ROBERT ALVIN PATRICK, SR. b. June 24, 1924 d. October 1, 2007

Last night I received the word that my dad had passed away from a massive stroke. It has been a long, hard battle with multiple health issues.

I don't want anyone to take this wrong, but I'm glad he's gone. As sad as I am right now, and as much as I know I will miss him, it has been soooo hard to watch him suffer through one health problem after the other.

The man who was my dad pretty much disappeared about 4 years ago with the onset of dementia. Oh, we would still see glimpses of him occasionally, and there were even weeks at a time that he was very lucid, but for the most part he seemed to "live" in the period between high school and the end of WWII.

The tenacity of my father amazed me. Born into a very large, very poor family, he learned to care for the physical needs of a family very early. He worked at whatever he could to earn money to help feed, clothe, and educate his brothers and sisters. That work-ethic carried over into his service time, he was a Marine that was in the first wave to hit Iwo Jima, and when his unit was decimated (only Daddy and one other man left the island alive from their unity), he linked up with a medic group until they made him leave the island. After he and mom married, he finished his time in service, because he was determined not to quit fighting until we won the war!!!

Through the years, I watched Daddy dig in to any task, and stay with it until it was completed, no matter the cost to himself.

He always tried to sound so gruff, but it was because he was soooo uncomfortable with sharing his feelings. I was in my 30's before I ever remember hearing him say the words "I love you", although he showed it in countless ways. Once he started telling me he loved me, it became the constant theme of phone calls and visits.

One of his funny/frustrating idiosyncrasies, was his habit of asking which way you drove to get somewhere. He ALWAYS had a better route--more scenic, less traffic, or something!!! He would even give you an alternate route to somewhere that ONLY had one way in and one way out. He LOVED to argue directions!!!! However, he did make sure that all three of his children could read a map!!! His favorite pastime was giving us a map (after we were already in the car heading someplace) and tell us to find where we were, and then give him directions to get where he wanted to go. He never got angry with wrong turns, but made it a huge adventure!! And he had maps to EVERYWHERE!!!

Yes, I am going to miss Daddy. Yes, the tears are going to come again, and again, and again. But would I wish him back???? Not for anything!!!! Bye, Daddy! Enjoy your new adventure!