Best Dad in the World

Last night at 10:15pm my Dad passed away.  I whispered to him to "go kick Uncle Sport's ass and go on a motorcycle ride with him one last time," and within minutes he was gone.  I told him I was okay, that I was strong and he didn't need to worry.   I watched the stats go down and a nurse came in... When she came in with the concerned look on her face I knew we were done and he was at peace.  Kacy and Debbie (my bio-Mom) were with me.  

He had been fighting for two years - congestive heart failure, chronic kidney disease... less than 10 years ago he was taking a sledge hammer to a tractor engine and unseizing it BY HAND.  He was the strongest person I have ever known.  He rarely got angry and I can count on one hand the times he got angry with me. 

He spent the last two years of his life here with us in Florida.  He was so happy.  Just the past few months he got to play on his tractor and plow up the back field, he got to attend band concerts for his granddaughter Megan.  When our back patio was finished he absolutely loved going and laying on the couch and sunbathing.  He had been wary of our move to Florida, feeling it was too far away, but he grew to love it.  

Both Kacy and I saw him deteriorating the past few weeks - ever since his older brother passed away.  He was sad, but at the same time he would tell me "I'm not done yet."  One of the last times I spoke with his doctor, they asked us what his goals were going forward and I told the doctor "I want my Dad well enough to go drive a tank in Orlando."  Even just this morning we were joking about checking him out of the hospital and going to Disney World this weekend and riding our favorite rides - Peter Pan, Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion.  Right now, though, I'm numb.  I'm numb, completely sad, and having the realization that he's not going to call me at 7:30 in the morning and ask me what I'm doing or where I'm at.  

I was so incredibly lucky to have him as a Daddy.  He was, in my opinion, the best Daddy in the world.  When my parents divorced and my Mom and I moved to Chicago he would drive 7 hours from Kentucky to Chicago to visit me over the weekend.  During the summers we would go on road trips and visit various Civil War battlefields, go camping at state parks, and get into various adventures along the way.  He taught me, sometimes with me kicking and screaming, to appreciate small roadside attractions, hole in the wall diners that I wouldn't have given a second look at when I was much much younger, and the ability to negotiate.  I sat on his lap when I was tiny while he wrote his various books and we talked about doing an audio recording of his latest book.  He was the one that took me to all my various extra curricular activities - ballet, gymnastics, karate, etc. We would go on motorcycle trips and tractor rides. 

He absolute loved elephants and I was so happy to give him the opportunity a couple of Christmas' ago to go to Myakka Elephant Ranch and actually get up close and personal with an elephant.  He lived with vim and vigor until the very end.  He fought hard and I know he wanted to live at least another 10 years.  I wanted him to live for another 10 years but I knew that wasn't going to happen.  My heart is broken.  I love you Dad.