We just celebrated our first holiday since dad’s passing and it was beautiful, fun, and bittersweet. Although I am a Jew, I still celebrate Easter with my mother, not necessarily for the religious aspects, but for the familial bonds and so she can see her grandkids. My uncles Bill and Bob were there, tons of food, tons of candy, and because we never celebrated Christmas because my dad was in the hospital and later passed away, we exchanged gifts. It’s a Chreaster!
It was the first holiday since dad’s passing and his absence was felt by us all, even while having a good time being together. My mom also gave me dad’s Beatles records and they are the same exact albums that I grew up listening to with him, so when I got them home and listened, so much emotion, both joy and sadness, flooded my heart. So, I have been trying to process everything, how it was such a great time, tons of love, laughs, and the like, but someone was missing, someone who was a big part of all of our lives. Each holiday we celebrate, I know dad will be there in spirit, but his physical presence is greatly missed, his humor, his laugh, his ability to make everything hilarious.
Holidays are for the family to come together, this is the first year ours was noticeably missing a member and I’m not entirely sure how to deal with that. Dad would want us to come together and celebrate, he’d want us to have a good time, so that is what we’ll continue to do, in his honor and name.