It's been 23 Years

 

Hola, 

It was the 23rd Anniversary of my father's death. this past Sunday. Of course I think of my father every day but this year the events of the past week or so have made me wish he was still alive.

Look, I could write a book about my father. He was a devoted family man and incredibly hard worker all his life. He was a thriving member of our community, admired and loved by many.

As his child of course I looked up to him for his amazing charisma and open heart to most everyone. The important values that he instilled in us were empathy, to treat others like you want to be treated and most of all to respect people for who they are, no matter where they come from or the color of their skin. He taught us to understand people by their actions not by what they say, to always better yourself when you can and to educate yourself on the world around you. I could go on but this is not the only point of my post.

My daughter Myah had her ballet recital 2 weeks ago and last week she completed the 4th grade.  She sure went out with a bang! She was the epitome of elegance in her performance at the recital. Last Monday she was awarded the 4th grade science fair award and the Excellence in Respect award from her whole school. 

Boy!  We were so excited for her and just wanted to tell everyone! So did she! But the one person I really wanted to call was my Dad. I can see him beaming with pride and love for his granddaughter. Then it got me to thinking of all the things he missed these past 23yrs.

I ended up going back to college based on one of our last serious conversations. I graduated with honors and got my Masters. I met and married my husband. My father never got to meet my husband or walk me down the aisle. Though my mother filled in beautifully. He missed out on the birth and life of my daughter and last year he became a great grandfather. He would have loved that.

Losing a parent is heart break. well, at least it was for me. My father and I weren't always close but the last 10yrs of his life we healed old wounds and moved into a love and understanding of each other. 

The day before he passed I made a promise to him that because he and my mother worked so hard for us to have a better life with more opportunities then they had that I wasn't going to let my fears stop me from having a life I loved. So, many of things that I accomplished since his passing came about because of the promise I made to him. 

Instilling his value of respect in Myah earned acknowledgement from her whole school which just shows how well his teaching has been alive in me to be passed onto future generations of Rizzolo's.

I thank God for this extraordinary man who was my father here on earth. The love between a father and daughter is very precious and my father knew that. 

Miss you always Daddy but you live on in so many ways! 

Love & Peace

Gina