I am humbled and grateful for the outpouring of support from our friends, family, coworkers and acquaintances. I have been so touched by the concern for my family in these last three weeks.
I know some of you know my dad through us, my sisters or my mom, and know he is a good, kind man. My dad is also the strongest man I know, in more ways than one. Growing up, my friends called him the gorilla because of his enormous upper body – he always looked like he could break you in two. Boyfriends were always afraid of him, and he didn’t do anything to counter that perception (hey, the man had four daughters – what did you expect?) The truth was, although he could be physically intimidating, he’s the kind of guy that trusts people until they give him a reason not to – and even then, you can still win him over. Once you’re in, you’re in. When my husband asked my parents for their blessing to marry me, my dad said, “If she loves you, I love you. But if you hurt her, you can’t run far enough.” And that’s pretty much my dad in a nutshell.
He also has unbelievable strength from within. I’ve never heard him ask why bad things happen. Instead, he always wants to know what’s next, how he can help, how he can move forward. I try to be like him – enjoy what you’ve got for as long as you have it, working hard and loving your family. I really think that’s why he’s a happy man.
My dad has a great sense of humor. He taught us not to take ourselves too seriously. Life is too short to be angry or sad for too long. I learned the art of telling a good joke from him and how to diffuse even the most awful situations with a little bit of humor. That ability to put people at ease, to give a bear hug and make someone laugh when they’re crying comes from my pops.
One of the best things about having my boys has been seeing them with their Pa. He is an absolutely fantastic grandpa. In fact, my son Jack said “Pa” before he said “Mama”. They think he is just about the greatest thing ever and he can’t get enough of them. He put hammers in their hands as soon as they could sit up. He gives them tractor rides and lets them get good and dirty. They always come home thoroughly exhausted from their adventures at my parents’ house. My dad is tickled by his grandsons – especially when they’re getting into trouble. He probably considers it payback for all the gray hairs I gave him during my teenage years.
The one thing that has weighed heavily on him through all of this is that he’s always, always taken care of other people. He was one of the oldest of eight children. He worked the farm with my grandpa. He’s the first to jump in when somebody needs something. I think that this is going to be one of the hardest things he and my mom will face – he’s going to have to focus on getting well and let us take care of him. My mom has always carried so much responsibility and now she has to shoulder the extra weight of being sole provider as well as his daily caretaker. I know she’s up to the challenge, but I can’t imagine how hard it is for her right now. My sisters and I are trying to help her as much as we can, but we know it’s still going to be incredibly difficult for her, too.
We know it will be hard, but we just know that the alternative – life without him – would have been unbearable.
Thank you for your support – you have no idea how much this means to our family.
-Krisha
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