Yesterday would have been Dad‘s 90th birthday and I made a post – Happy Birthday Dad October 26, 2019 – You Are Not Forgotten last night to honor his birthday. I am thankful for how my parents raised me and the values they taught me. Often, the lessons weren’t things they said, but were how they lived their lives. From an author‘s perspective, it was more show than tell.
Family, and I am including friends who are like family as well as anybody you consider family, can be important. They can also be gone in a heartbeat. Dad was only 47 when he died. Mom lived another 20 years after Dad passed on. Both deaths were unexpected. In Dad‘s case, he had health issues – heart condition, diabetes, and a few other things. Mom had her own set of health problems. In 1963, Mom was given 6 months to live. In January 1993, she was given 6 months to live. She lived until July 31, 1997. She was born November 15th and this time of year can be hard as their birth dates are close together. At other times, it’s easier. The anniversaries of their death dates are spread out more.
My parents are buried 900 miles away and I rarely get down to visit their graves. It’s at times like this I am grateful for websites like BillionGraves and Find-A-Grave as I can pay my respects long distance.
As I mentioned in other posts, we don’t know how long we have on this planet. I am scheduling this shortly before Dad’s Birthday post goes live to show up tomorrow afternoon. Life is short. I have a 95 year old friend, someone I consider to be a great-grandmother although we are nowhere that close in kinship. We are probably distant cousins if we could trace our lines back far enough. From looking at our DNA results, we don’t show as related.
Ups Downs Family History 