Good-bye for now, Dad

My kids went to their dad's on Monday morning after a doctor appointment and then I went to Tabitha to sit with my mom.  We talked about how everyone had come over the weekend to tell Dad good-bye.  He was then at day 5 of sleeping and not eating.  Morphine was keeping him comfortable.  At 11:45 pm, Mom called me to say that Dad had passed away.  I made it to Tabitha before my mom and sister got there.  I saw my dad in his bed and immediately turned around and left the room.  I was walking circles in the hall outside the door when a nurse approached me.  I then sat in the dining area until the hospice nurse came and then my mom and Peg came.  At that point I re-entered his room and could handle seeing his body.  Beth then made it to Lincoln.  We sat talking while waiting for the sheriff to inspect his body and pronounce him deceased.  The mortuary took him and then we left.  There are no longer any 24 hour restaurants near here so we went back to my house.  I fell back asleep and they went to clean out his room at Tabitha.  We met with the mortuary and I video chatted with the girls to tell them that Grandpa had passed away.  Philomena chatted with me but Maggie ran off upset.  I texted Gene and Jess to find her and Jess texted back that she had a good conversation with Maggie and she was doing well.  I appreciated her supporting the girls while I was supporting my mom that week.  Gene brought the girls to me in time for the visitation and I kept them through my time with them.

So Dad died on Monday, March 11, and then we held the funeral on Saturday, March 16 so friends and family wouldn't have to take off work for the funeral. I spoke at the funeral about Dad's Rules for Life.  All my cousins were there so we were able to get a picture which we hadn't done in years.  Then we went to a bar & grill in Waverly.  It was so nice to hang out with my cousins and reminisce. 

The Top 10 Ron’s Rules To Live By

You can do whatever you set your mind to. 

• This may have come back to bite him when us girls got old enough to independently set our minds to do something.

Work hard, give it all you’ve got, and finish what you start.

• Determination is a genetic and nurtured trait in our family.

Help others whenever you can.

• He would drop everything to go help someone who called him.

Lead by example.

• God is in nature and all of life; not confined to a church building.

• Use the brain God gave you.  Even his hobbies involved thinking.  He was always playing solitaire.  First with a deck of cards at the kitchen table and later on the computer all the while listening to us girls and Mom chatting about our lives.

Don’t think on an empty stomach.

• He made the best homemade fudge; 

• He always had brownie pudding for his birthday from his mom's recipe; 

• He loved my mom's chocolate chip cookies and said that her Monster cookies had enough food groups in them to be a breakfast food.

Don’t talk or walk in front of the television when there’s a Husker football game on or the news is on.

• I frequently heard, “You make a better door than a window!”

Write out your pros and cons, and then sleep on it. 

• Don't rush;

• Think things through. Very. Thoroughly.

If at first you don’t succeed, have patience, and keep trying and trying and trying.

• He didn't much care if we made mistakes, but he definitely cared, "Did you learn your lesson?"

God, family, friends, food, and safety are everything.

• Do NOT block a fire exit with anything.  Dad will make sure that you, your sisters, and your cousin learn this lesson very thoroughly.  This will be drilled into your head so much that the next generation also gets to hear the story as they are growing up!

Make the most out of every day and enjoy life.