When asked what he was gonna do some days, my dad used to say "I'm just gonna watch the grass grow" & then he'd smile. - Dina Wasmer
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I loved my home town. I had a great childhood and teenage years, but then I moved on...to the big city as they say. No, not New York, just Baltimore. But for a kid growing up in farm country, that is the "big" city.
I went onto undergrad and grad school, started a business, landing in a great relationship, bought a house, have a wonderful family etc. etc. Life seemed to be on autopilot and going smoothly. Then it all changed. "Life is short," they say. It doesn't seem that way sometimes, until it's gone.
I enjoyed my Dad for exactly 45 years. He passed away on my birthday. I performed CPR on him but I was unable to revive him. Although I replay that day in my head pretty much every time I enter my parent's house, what I remember the most is that morning when, despite him not feeling well, he sang "Happy Birthday" to me over the phone and put his own special spin on it as if he were feeling 100%.
I also think about the night about a week before he passed. I was out visiting and was about to leave because I had some work to catch up on. He said, "Do you need to rush off"" I thought to myself for a second, "No, not really." So I stayed and we played cards...Phase 10 was his favorite. We laughed, we had some snacks and he won the card game.
I'm grateful that I stopped to "taste the food." Not the snacks that we had while playing cards, but the time I made to spend with my Dad. Although I didn't know it would be one of the last times I spent with him, I paid special attention to his laugh, his hands as he held the cards, and his huge heart that took him from us just a week later.
Shortly after he passed, I called my real estate friend and ultimately moved back to my home town, closer to my mom. Now I'm making a point to stop and "taste the food" as often as possible, and it feels good to be home.
Dina Wasmer is President of Incite Creative and she can be found at Incite Creative. And, she is also a wonderful person.
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