He Was There

Christmas Day 2016, my first Christmas without my Dad here

The Property (Ours and Flowers)

We are so busy in our lives. There’s time, but too rare is it that time, we make. Mostly, it is the allowances that we welcome, our time it does take. So, slow down, take ten minutes or so, and go where this takes you. It’s safe I assure you, and visit as often as you would like to.

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Missing Dad

I’m here in the yard, at the house I grew up in. I mowed the lawn as I usually do. But I’m missing my Dad. He’d be sitting right here, outside in the warm air. We’d be talking about this, or that, or even silently enjoying that which God created. Sharing a mutual respect for the simple things that make life grand. Seven weeks ago today, God took him home. I’m home, and I miss him.

I mowed the lawn with MapMyWalk! Distance: 1.93mi, time: 01:07:17, pace: 34:52min/mi, speed: 1.72mi/h.
http://mapmywalk.com/workout/1509954698

Last Trip to Canada

I was going through some documents I had on my Google Drive and I came across one that I had put together last June. I did this in planning a trip to New Brunswick, Canada to take my Mom, and Dad, up to her hometown, where she grew up. But the visual planning was done more for my Dad so he would know what to expect, and feel comfortable knowing that we were making several stops so he could stretch, get coffee, or whatever.

In recent weeks, Dad had talked with my Mom about how he could not wait to take (I would drive them) Mom back to Canada again this year. Then, on April 14, 2016, God intervened, and took Dad to his eternal home. As it turned out, this trip I planned, which we did take, would be Dad’s last trip to Canada. Dad did not do well on that trip, he was not completely healthy at the time, and he struggled throughout. That being said, I choose to remember the dozens and dozens of trips Dad did make to Canada over the years, and how those trips remain as some of the most fond memories of my lifetime. Dad took Mom up to her home for more than 40 years, and he taught me well. I have taken Mom and Dad up to the old farm country in New Brunswick on nearly all of their trips over the last 4-5 years. Lord willing, I will be able to continue bringing Mom over the border to see her family for many years to come. I am thankful. I am blessed. I love my parents and would go to the ends of the earth for them. I miss my Dad.

Here’s how that simple agenda looked.

Planning for travel and stops to New Brunswick. June 26-29, 2015.

Mom, Dad, and Steve.

Leave Mom and Dad’s on Friday morning, June 26, 2015 by 7:15am.

Grab coffee at DD in the Irving Station at Exit 5 by 7:30am.

Drive out 101 East and get on 95N.

Cross into Maine by 8:30am.

 

Stop at Gray, Maine Service Plaza at exit 59 by 9:30am.

Back on the highway by 9:45am.

 

Stop at Exit 130 Tim Horton’s in Waterville, Maine by 11:00am.

Back on the highway by 11:15am.

 

Stop at Exit 193 in Orono, Maine by 12:30pm.

Back on the highway by 12:45pm.

 

Stop at Exit 302 in Houlton, Maine by 2:15pm.

Gas up, any snacks or drinks pick up, empty garbage, etc.

 

Get to the border by 2:40 pm.

 

Stop at Aunt Barbara’s house in Hartland, NB by 4:15pm (Atlantic).

 

Return home to Londonderry on Monday, June 29, 2015.

We will retrace these same stops on the way home.

Likely leaving the Woodstock, NB area by 11:30am (Atlantic Time).

 

This should get us to Londonderry by 6:00pm (Eastern).

Photos are (c) Google Maps and 1inawesomewonder.