The Birthday Party We Never Had

Dad would have turned 90 this month. When he passed in the summer of 2020, we had no idea we had just weeks left with Mom, too.

Cancer took Dad and we saw it coming, but the end of home as I knew it came way too fast and I felt robbed. Maybe just of days at that point, but it felt like so much.  

He was my unlikely encourager both in writing and in heart failure. He never saw my book published, but he was so excited to see my articles pop up on Google when he did a search for my name. He spent hours researching heart failure when I was first diagnosed. He left a hole too big for my mama, “the only girl he ever loved,” to survive for long. I can’t change anything about how it all ended, but their legacy will not be forgotten as long as I have access to words. I am forever grateful to have been a witness to it. I can only imagine how life would be if he and Mom were still here, but one thing I know for sure: His birthday cake would have been chocolate.

So, as the busy fall speaking season has me traveling, I am resharing a piece I wrote just after losing Dad. It will give you a better glimpse of this amazing guy and may even conjure up some memories—and gratitude—of your own.

Read why I Grew Up a Rich Girl or listen to it HERE.

Then leave a comment and tell me something special about your own dad.