Father passed away

It is with a very sad heart that I write about my Dad's passing away at age 82. He had Parkinsons and dementia for around 10 years and was in a nursing home for 8 years of that. He was an incredible human being, such a powerhouse of character and enthusiasm, and it may be stating the obvious but he had a significant impact on me and my life. It was so sad to see his decline over the years but I think in a way, it allowed us to prepare for his eventual passing. Thankfully the Nursing home staff recognised his decline and suggested the family all come to say goodbye. We are a bit dispersed so I'm glad we all had the time and opportunity to get together and say our final goodbyes before he passed away. It was an interesting thing to see him rally - after some research I learned about the term 'terminal lucidity'. On the day we were all there to see him, he smiled when we were holding his hand, he was so happy when we gave him hugs, and his eyebrows shot up at the offer of extra ice-cream for lunch. It was the most animated I had seen him in a long time and his mischevious character really shone through. It was really amazing to see his personality come alive while we were all there and I'm so glad that all the grandkids got to see him like that. But after a few hours, he fell asleep and didn't regain consciousness. He pass away about 36 hours after that. I am very appreciative of all the staff at the nursing home that looked after him right upto the end.

Funeral happened last week, it's crazy how much time and effort goes into it. Meetings with the funeral directors, the church, organising the coffin, the order of service, music, photos, what clothes to dress him in, burial or cremation, so many decisions to be made. All done while dealing with grief. Looking back it was all very much a whirlwind of activity but I feel like I wasn't really involved at the same time. Hard to explain - kind of like a dissociation. It was really great to have all the family and his friends attend. Being a school teacher there were also so many comments from previous students and from other teachers on the impact that he had on their lives. He was in so many theatrical productions through the school and the local theatrical societies (even wrote a few melodramas himself). He was a marriage celebrant, he was an active Freemason, he had so many hobbies and interests: gardening, leadlighting, reading, music, just to name a few. He was always learning, always sharing his knowledge and mischevious wit. So many great stories, I really appreciate everyone telling me about all the great times they shared with my Dad. We managed to include a few examples in the eulogy - public speaking is really not my forte and with the church so full of people I would normally be freaking out about standing up infront of everyone, but having my sisters and Mum all contributing to the speech was a huge comfort. I think the grief probably distracted me a bit, but more than that, I think I really wanted to get up and share with everyone some of the great times we had, how much of an impact he had on all of our lives - what a great man he was. I really wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be. All of his grandchildren also got involved with some of the readings during the service as well which was really nice and everyone who attended mentioned how well they all did. I'm glad they got the chance to participate.

Poppa - I am thankful for all the time we got to spend together and I will always love and miss you. Rest in peace.