It's almost Thanksgiving...

My father passed away a little more than three years ago. As fall comes to an end, it always makes me think of him since we always spent Thanksgiving together.

This is the time of year when random memories tend to hit me. For example, the other day I was watching Dirty Dancing and about half way through I remembered how much he loved that movie. Yes, it was true, my Marine, tough as nails, salt of the earth father, really loved the movie Dirty Dancing. His favorite part was when Patrick Swayze rescues Baby from the corner and then they have their little dance scene.

It came out when I was about seven years old and I remember him telling me to "Cover your eyes!" during  the "dirty" parts.. Now, as an adult, I'm not sure there were any really dirty parts, they were just a little embarrassing for my very conservative father to watch with his young daughter.

I've decided that as these memories come to me, I'm going to blog about them. I'm typically very closed when it comes to the subject of my father. But, I figure this is a good way to remember him. It's also a challenge for me as writer to put something down on a subject I keep so close to the vest.

For many years my father and I fought terribly; Especially after he and my mother divorced, but as we both grew and learned to respect each other I forgave my father, and I hope he forgave me, and we learned to be friends.  I also realized that the reason we most likely fought for all those years is that we are very similar. It wasn't until the last few years he was alive that I really learned who he was and I often feel like he only left me with small snippets of himself. He was a quiet guy, but his heart was big and he was always trying to give something to somebody or help a person.

I remember after snowstorms, or sometimes during them, my father would load me in the truck and we would go out on back roads purposefully looking for people to pull out of ditches. He would never take money, and he never left his name. It was just the good deed that he liked to do, because he could.

My heart still aches when I think of him, and I am pretty sure that it always will. But, it still makes me smile when I catch myself thinking of memories that we had together.

Dirty Dancing - Time of my Life