One More Day

      If you could spend one day with anyone living or dead who would it be?  Would you choose an amazing historical figure? Or a precious loved one lost too soon?  Before March 2012 I probably would have chosen a great person from history, maybe Joan of Arc or one of the biblical prophets like Isaiah.  What happened in March 2012 to change my mind?  My father died from pancreatic cancer.  He was the rock of our family, the one person everyone could go to for a listening ear, helping hand, or understanding heart.  Family was everything to him and anyone marrying in was immediately included.
     He would listen to me babble on, sometimes for over an hour, about anything and everything from current events and political issues to what my children were doing that day.  If he was watching the television, he wouldn't say, "I'll call you back later," but would mute it and listen to whatever was the problem.
     If something was going wonky with one of our vehicles I would always phone him, tell him what was happening, and hear his suggestions before heading off to the mechanic.  If we needed a new vehicle he would find it for us.  In February we traded in the last minivan he found for us.  It was a bittersweet moment as we really needed a newer van but there was another connection to my father that had to be given up.  It may seem strange to someone else, especially if they aren't the sentimental type but it meant a little something to me.  I didn't cry or anything like that but I did think of my dad as I got out of that van for the last time.
     Seeing my dad's lawn and garden being carefully tended by others was a little strange.  Sitting in my sister's house last summer, which is next-door to my parents' house, I would often expect to see my dad walk out the back door and head across the lawn to move a sprinkler or do some gardening.
      I miss him most when I really need advice on something.  He could always calm me down when I was getting too upset and he always had some advice even if it was simply to search out the answer myself because he didn't have a clue.   So if I was magically given one day with anyone, I would choose my dad.  I would tell him what we were all up to and give him a huge hug.  But most of all I would tell him goodbye because in the end I never really got that chance.  Why not I love you?  Because I told him that every time I talked to him after his diagnosis was determined to be terminal.  I will never have to regret that my final words to him were something stupid or angry.   My father always knew I loved him and I always knew he loved me.
     I know that when I leave this life I will see my father again so wishing for one more day with him in this life seems a little stupid but I don't care.  I would give anything to see him one last time for a hug and goodbyes.  I love you, Dad!