For Paint Party Friday I'm sharing a few very basic pieces I painted then digitally played with as I was experimenting with my new android phone!
My dad passed away on St Patrick's day 1986 twenty seven years ago, six weeks after my daughter cupcake, his first grandchild was born.... What better way to keep his gentle spirit alive than to remember him on my blog! Dad was a menial man with a big heart! At fifteen, brothers by his side he kicked his father out of the house for striking their mother!
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| True love is Special |
A bit of a wild child dad started smoking at seven and quit school at eight! Twenty five years later he built his own house from a book!!! A very nice home it was. He built me a sweet little playhouse with a dutch doors then painted it white and pink to match our house! I was daddies girl. I always knew he loved and understood me!
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| Mom, Dad and Me in the 60's |
A wonderful ballroom dancer, Dad would serenade as he swept across the floor! Even after he died women approached me to express what a great dancer he was! There was no doubt he loved my mother, even when she was crabby he was kind. Such a gentle spirit, his only vice was liquor. A quiet man could become argumentative and belligerent when he drank too much. It was the only time my parents fought, still he never swore at mom. Sober he was the best guy and a great dad!
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| True Love is Messy |
As perfect as that all sounds there were times when liquor got in the way!! It seemed the nights mom made the nicest dinners dad would go to the bar for a few games of shuffleboard and beer! Or if by chance she declared her love the previous night! Her ire esculated when he didn't call to warn he'd be wouldn't be home for dinner! My feisty mother would stew all evening. No measure of talking could calm her furious spirit! Instead moms little five foot frame would lunge at him as he came through the door. One time ripping the buttons right off his shirt ! Knowing full well she'd be sewing them back the next day! Feeling no pain dad would hold up his hands to protect himself. One time she was waiting outside with the hose and soaked him from head to toe!! It was all pretty traumatic until years later when we all laughed about it!
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| Dad and I |
Mom was always worrying about him driving impaired. Once she had me drive her to the bar to get his keys! She waltzed her five foot self into the bar alone, walked up to his table of three people, grabbed his keys, knocked all the beers off the table, kicked him in the shins and walked out!! That scene is forever in my head as I chuckle to myself!! She was so mad she couldn't even speak!!
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| True Love is Passionate |
It was hard to witness as a child and I vowed to never put my cupcake through that!! Some may feel it's disloyal to expose your family on a blog. Of course ugly is only part of the story. My dad loved my mom implicitly, and he tolerated a lot too!! The moral of this story is that they loved each other deeply and we always knew it! Even though he never bought her pretty things, he did a lot of nice everyday things for her! Mom died five years after him at the exact same age. Even though it was cancer that took her, I'm pretty sure it was a broken heart she died of! She was a good woman and he saw past all her faults and stuck through the tough times as did she! They had loads in common and had lots of fun together playing cards, golfing, bowling, gardening, dancing and partying with family!
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| Mom and Dad after 36 years of marriage. Look at her squeezing his hand! |
As I watch couples have a revolving door of partners, I feel sad that they will never know the longevity of true love in all it's messy reality! Their kids, my kid will never know the security of two parents who love and enjoy each other through all the ugly tough parts! It's a learning curve many will never experience today! True love in all it's ups and downs is complex and needs to be explained that way!!
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| True Love is Worth it!! |
Were you able to witness or experience the longevity of true love?
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| Mom and Dad on his 65th birthday 16 months before he died! |
Be sure to take lots of photos of your loved ones!
I have very few, this is the last good one of my parents together!
Years ago it was time consuming and expensive to develop photos, there is no excuse now with digital technology!
47 comments:
Very poignant post, Sherrie. None of us is perfect. The thing that lasts in our minds is how we felt when with the other person. Your dad loved you immensely. I believe what it says in 1 Corinthians 13 that everything will pass away but love remains. I am amazed by his ability to build a house from a book (especially with his limited schooling!). You come from extremely strong stock.
wow this is a great tribute to both your parents. Thank you for sharing these special moments.
Happy PPF, Annette x
http://nettysartadventures.blogspot.co.uk/
Oh, that's a story and a half Giggles. Every word so loving and true, and with an understanding of your parents' relationship.
My parents too had a troubled/loving relationship. Their story reads like a novel - enough to say here that they couldn't live with each other but they couldn't live without each other - and loved each other until their dying days, even though my father died years before my mother she loved him when she died at 92.
As I've said before, you write so movingly, and with an understanding heart.
HUgs..what a super beautiful and heart touching post..your story filled my heart..wishing you many warm memories of both your mom and dad..such beautiful and lovely souls..wonderful photos of you all! Yes I do cherish and take photos..and have witnessed great love of my parents and grandparents..it is a treasure!
You are a very very beautiful spirit my friend..fantastic tribute of love and remebrance!
Shine on
Victoria
Thank you for sharing what "real" family life is all about. Loving each other through the ups and downs and knowing, no matter what, that you are loved. Both your mother and father sound like extremely strong people who loved their children very much. From the way you write about them, it is very obvious how much you love them.
Love is grand!!! Thanks for sharing.
Wonderful post Sherrie. Your Dad sounds like mine, he was a drinker too, when he was sober he was kind thoughtful and wise and under the influence he was belligerent and selfish. However my Mum didn't stick it out, but she found true everlasting love at the age of fifty, her third marriage! He found everlasting love too and she was like your mum. I suppose it teaches us we are not perfect and it is a lot easier to walk away these days. I suppose the most important thing is that our parents love us to bits.
I forgot to say I absolutely love the owl!
♥ Beautiful post all about love! Love the art too :)
Your posts are always poignant.
Your blog is a wonderful way to remember your dad.
I do love your new blog header, too!
It's fab!!
♥♥♥
Happy PPF!!
Mary
Mixed-Media Map Art
Wonderful tribute post to your dad, what a lovely family. Hugs! HPPF!
First I want to thank you for bearing your soul (yet again) so bravely and sharing a story probably more of us can connect with than you know (like me). Oh how I wish we could meet! I'm sure both of your parents are looking down on you with sheer pride and love.Mwah! happy PPF!
Oh your owl is perfect! Awesome. Your post/tribute to your DAD is beautiful.
This is an amazing story of true love, Ms. Giggles. I don't believe anyone'e marriage is perfect, because non of us are. We all have our own faults, but it's how we deal with them and those of others that makes for a solid relationship. Thank you for honoring your father and your mother, just like we are told in the Bible. Blessings!
lovely art and honest tribute to your dad! None of us are perfect after all.
GREAT art- your owl is beautiful..as is your mom and dad..GREAT post..you tell the truth..awesome love of a daughter who's parents mite not have been perfect but did some things absolutely right to deserve this post..tfs
None of us are perfect. It's so touching to hear stories of true love, in spite of problems. Many of us don't have that story to tell and have not witnessed such love, so I'm glad you share your parents' story with us. I can see where you get your SPIRIT -- you had spirited parents. Your heart and owl are wonderful.
I liked the part about messy reality... I love all the messy reality of being together so long... all the button pushing is the downside but having personal shorthand is the upside... we often fast forward to the end of disagreements which is a great way to get through it all... and sometimes I think this mirrors what I saw with my grandparents... married 65 years before they both passed within a year of each other and they were so full of all the contradictions that come with being together all those years... was a joy to witness...xx
How great that you shared all this with us! Love needs space, nurturing and deep understanding of the other one, your parents must have had all of these things and more..I'm lucky to be still happily married to my man, oh yes we have our moments, but there is an understanding that keeps us strong! My parents are still such a pair, as were my grandparents...so very lucky to have grown up with all that love!
I love your owl, great creation, they are such wonderful birds! xx
How great that you shared all this with us! Love needs space, nurturing and deep understanding of the other one, your parents must have had all of these things and more..I'm lucky to be still happily married to my man, oh yes we have our moments, but there is an understanding that keeps us strong! My parents are still such a pair, as were my grandparents...so very lucky to have grown up with all that love!
I love your owl, great creation, they are such wonderful birds! xx
A lot to read but worth it thanks for sharing. Big hugs to you xx
What a wonderful post. How lucky you are to have memories of such a loving relationship with your father.
Love the owl and what a sweet post. To stay true through the good, bad, and ugly is such a feat and such an inspiring legacy. Your parents sound like a wonderful, REAL, very committed couple and this is a wonderful tribute to them.
What a great post, so honest and raw. Very few love stories are all happy ever after without a few bumps in the road first. I've been very lucky to have experienced a true and lasting love-my parents are 78 now and have been together since they were 16 & married at 22. They are still very much in love after all those years. My sister and I on the other hand both had a couple of failed marriages before we found our perfect partners-maybe our parents being so happy set the bar too high for us! Still, thankfully we got there in the end!
What a beautiful tribute to your dad! I like it that you don't just put all the good stuff in there. All people have their faults, and their little annoying habits. That's just reality. The main thing is that you witnessed and still remember their love for eachother. Your dad looks like a really sweet guy. He looks to be of Greek or Italian descent. Is he? Maybe it's the eyebrows that make me think that .... ;-) Love your new header! Bright and vibrant colours that remind me of Spring.
I am so glad you shared this! Life I guess is not all roses and sunshine but at times can be very hard. Your parents seem to have stuck together through thick and thin and it is wonderful to hear you say that they deeply loved eachother. I think that makes a lot of pain go away. Great art to go with the story :)
ManonX
What an amazing love story. Love is such a difficult thing to define and there are probably as many ways to love as there are lovers.
Thank you Giggles for sharing:)
xxx
Great tribute to your father and mother, honest and loving - thank you for sharing! Your writing has a fine flavor of life- and great humor! Love your cute owl! <3
Lots of food for thought here. Great stuff. Maybe the world expects too much of an easy fix sometimes. I worry about our kids and whether they will have the same longevity in relationships. My parents stayed together and I hope to with my hubby too. We've managed 26 years so far so hopefully this will be a good example to my son. Love your artwork.
I love visiting your blog - I have to say sometimes I get so caught up in your stories I forget about the art!
You are always so honest - I don't tend to share the tough stuff on my blog but we are all different and nobody is perfect we can only do our best and what we feel is right for us.
You have a lot of happy special memories
Thank you for sharing
and great art too!!
Karen x
Dear Sherrie!
You were lucky that your father was such a nice person, because I can relate to your mother for worrying her mind out/off when he drank too much!
Some fathers aren't nice either with or without alcohol!
But!!! I am glad that you have many good and happy memories about your father!
Love your owl-art!
Hugs Ilona
wow. there are two sides to the coin as they say. An interesting life to say the least. Its good to look at both and remember things fondly.. or not because that is life - isn't it? The good and the bad. Love is an interesting thing with its many facets. Nice tribute. Love the new header too :)
i loved reading this... reminds me of how similar we all are. Your parents looked beautiful in that photo. You're so right about taking photos, and you must be so glad you have that one. Beautiful. Thank you for sharing this. xox
A wonderful tribute to your dad! Valerie
I LOVE THIS POST so so so much. What an honor it is to love him so - and what a great, honest story of a long marriage you shared. No, I never have seen that personally, although perhaps because of it, I hope to be together forever with mine. Oh, and I totally love the part where you said she was squeezing his hand in the picture - and the bar scene too. LOVE to you, xoxo
Beautiful tribute! I love the owl painting - such purposeful eyes! Well done :)
this is so beautiful giggles. i love to read your post. your dad .. your family.. the love.. they're all amazing. keep on inspiring!
Deeply touching post. My parents will be married 59 years this August. And though they have their individual faults, they love each other truly and deeply. They are partners in every sense. Thank you for sharing this and those beautiful hearts and your soulful owls. Your dad sounds like someone out of a Eugene O'Neil play -- larger than and full of life.
This is such an amazing , touching tribute to your dad...I am sure where ever he is ...he is sending his blessings to you! and your hearts as always bring smile to my little heart :)
A lovely post to remember your father. I think every family has their issues, but these are not so bad, and quite funny that your mother was such a spit fire! I think she handled it well, they very obviously loved each other!
I love the little owl as well!
That is sweet of you to share. It's good that you can find humor in these stories.
You know as I was reading this, I connected on so many levels. It is 30 years now since I lost my Dad, 3 years since I lost my Mom. I was 16 when Dad died and he never got to see his only grandson. My mother spent years without him, she never considered remarrying. Like your parents story, theirs was an amazing love story too!
It is great of you to share this bit of your story with us, Giggles!
Thank you so much and lots of love,
zafaran
I LOVE your old pics!
And, I forgot to mention that lovely owl! Sweet little one! :-)
A great tribute to your parents and especially your Dad. Thank you for sharing your memories and thoughts about true love.
Susan
Very moving post Giggles...I am so touched and I think everyone who reads it would feel the same! Thanks for sharing your wonderful story and the pictures are fabulous. I could the positivity in this post! You are so blessed :)
Love your owl and hearts :)
This is such a nice tribute to your dad...honest and loving. You're lucky to have had such wonderful parents... even with the bad stuff there was still a lot more good.
What a touching post. As the bard said, the course of true love never did run smooth... It's clear that there were rough spots, but also that there was a lot of love. Thanks for sharing your story. I also love your little owl, it's so very cute!
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