Memorial Day: remembering my dad.
Posted by Michelle on May 30th, 2011 . Filed under: 7 Gypsies, Personal .It’s Memorial Day here in the US. A holiday to remember those that died in service to our country. My dad is one of those…technically. He was in the Army and served several tours in Vietnam and died almost 40 years laters as a result of the effects of Agent Orange. {I’d refer you to the Wikipedia page on Agent Orange, but there are some graphic photos there, but if you want to know more about Agent Orange, a Google search will find it for you pretty quickly.}
There’s that song called 19 that talks about the average age of the American soldier in Vietnam – the one picture I have of my dad while he was serving in Vietnam was when he was indeed 19.
I have very few pictures of my dad and sometimes when I think about him it’s hard to get the mental image in my head of what he looked like. And sometimes that upsets me even more than the fact that he’s not here anymore. So I decided to make this simple little memory page and prop it up in a CD case and keep it on my desk so that I can always see his face…whenever I want to.
I’ve always been told that I look just like my father. And now they say that my daughter looks just like me. And I see this picture and the way he’s sort of scrunching his nose and I can totally see my daughter in that face.
I suppose that’s one way how memories live on…in our children.
A simple little creation. But quite honestly probably the most meaningful thing I have ever made.
And for myself. Most of the time I am making cards and such for other people.
But this little piece is just from me, to me….in memory of my dad.
May 30th, 2011 at 8:25 am
Wonderful job! So touching!!!!
May 30th, 2011 at 9:05 am
Lovely Michelle! What a great way to honor your Dad!
May 30th, 2011 at 6:38 pm
Tears – I love how you did this piece – a perfect memorial that lives on daily….I love it – your Dad would be proud!
May 30th, 2011 at 8:46 pm
What a great memory page you’ve made! I love it. And to have it in CD case where you can leave it out is just a fabulous idea!
May 31st, 2011 at 1:29 pm
Wow… what a perfect way to remember your Dad and give a gift to yourself. You have reminded to to take more pictures of my parents while I can.
Thank you.
May 31st, 2011 at 3:00 pm
Thanks so much for sharing about your Dad, Michelle. This is a wonderful way to remember him and to make that connection with your kids too. It’s so rare we actually make things for ourselves and this is really precious 🙂
May 31st, 2011 at 4:42 pm
Oh, Michelle, what a wonderful way to remember your dad. It makes me sad though that you do not have him anymore. It’s a perfect memory page , thank you for sharing .
May 31st, 2011 at 5:16 pm
Wow, Michelle, I absolutely love this! What a gorgeous, awesome keepsake & treasure you made to honor your dad. Perfect!
May 31st, 2011 at 5:50 pm
What a beautiful and touching creation. I love the picture of your father, and how you can see him in your daughter, what a wonderful reminder of him.
May 31st, 2011 at 5:59 pm
Michelle this is just LOVELY! What a wonderful tribute to your dad.. Thank You for sharing it with us all!
Have a GREAT day!
June 1st, 2011 at 7:54 am
heartfelt…feeling the love all they way over here in MD…love it! and yes, Agent Orange is nasty; my own father has sooo many health issues and thank goodness the military has claimed responsibility and his benefits & pension are reflected so that he gets fantastic health care.
June 2nd, 2011 at 9:39 am
Michelle, I can hardly write because I can’t see through tears but what an absolutely lovely tribute. That is what all this memory keeping stuff is all about and I am so glad that you did this just for you.
June 2nd, 2011 at 12:31 pm
Wow. I don’t know what to say. I’m all teary and emotional…..thank you for sharing….
June 2nd, 2011 at 6:16 pm
Michelle what a wonderful tribute to your dad! Your post was so moving..thanks for sharing.
June 20th, 2011 at 10:22 pm
Michelle, I’ve tried a couple times to leave a comment on this post, but it doesn’t seem to want to take! I just wanted to say that this is so special and meaningful, and the very best of why paper crafts exist. Wonderful tribute to Dad!