everyday memories

it's been 4 months now, but i literally think about my dad at least 5 times a day. i'll be sitting on the subway and remember taking the subway with him. or i'll be walking past a restaurant and wish i could take him there. or i'll see my dog and remember how my my dad loved playing with her. or i'll see a dad and his daughter riding bicycles on the street, and remember how my dad taught me to ride my bicycle in a park in livingston, NJ, and how encouraging he was i was finally able to ride without my training wheels.

or how he took me to get my ears pierced when i was 11 and then tried to distract me from the pain (even though i was the one who wanted to get my ears pierced) by walking around the mall with me.

or how when i was crying because my ears were hurting one day, he told me to be brave and showed me his scar from his open-heart surgery and said, see? i don't cry when i have to clean my scar! he was so brave, really brave.

the more i think about him, the more i see what a great person and father he really was. and it makes me sad and miss him even more, but at the same time, it makes me happy that i was able to spend 27 years of my life with someone so great like him. and because he was such a good person, i know he is somewhere where he is happy with other good people from his life. and i know he is watching over me and my momi and making sure we are safe and healthy and happy. that is always what made him the happiest...