Father's Day, time to honor dad and make him special. My dad died a
little over three years ago, on Valentine's Day of a broken heart. My
mom had passed away a few months prior and I don't think he wanted to
live without her. And since today is also my birthday, I wanted to share
some pictures of me and my dad! Ernest Everett Moore, but was always
known as "Pat", as in Pat the Irishman is what everyone called him. Born
in the early 20's, he was like most as he grew up in Joplin, Missouri
during those times. He served his time in WWII and always loved telling
the story about coming home from Germany on the Queen Mary. He and my
mom had something special. I don't know how to describe it, but I never
even came close to having it during the 22 years I was married to Mr.
Wonderful. He was a family man. Him and my mom bought their first and
only home in Long Beach, where I was born and raised. Katie and her
family bought the house after my mom and dad had passed away and now are
raising their family in the house I grew up in, just a remodeled
version of it!
It's
funny, this picture was taken at my mom's Aunt and Uncle's house also
in Long Beach, and very close to where I live now. I've never strayed to
far from the "LBC", my hometown.
Of course I don't remember hanging out with my dad on our back porch,
but I like to think I do. He was the one that kept the "memories" alive
in my family. He took most of the pictures, wrote on the backs of them
with stories and dates. He was that kind of guy back then. Just a family
man that worked for SoCal Edison as a lineman. He got paid every two
weeks and on those Fridays my sister and I would go out to dinner with
my folks at Heartwell Golf Course coffee shop. And YES, that is still
here, close by.
When
my folks bought their house, it was brand new. Douglas Aircraft had
just opened and there were new jobs to be found. My dad planted this
magnolia tree in the front yard. The magnolia tree that my sister and I
grew up under, the magnolia tree that my three kids played under, and
now the tree that Riley plays under and soon her baby brother will join
her.
This is one of my very favorite pictures of my dad and me, again taken
in our backyard. He really did his part in raising us. He could fix
anything and I do mean anything. I remember when I was going to school
over at Cal State University Fullerton, I was driving an old VW bug at
the time. As I was getting ready to drive home after class, my clutch
went out. Not a probem for my dad. He met me at school with a rope in
hand. Tied it to some part in the engine and ran it through the driver
window. I drove his car home, and he drove mine by using the rope to
"shift" since the clutch had gone out. My dad, Mr. Fix It!
I have this picture framed in my home, I love it! My sister, Teri and
I, were at Pier Point Landing down at the beach in Long Beach with my
folks. It's no longer there but was such a cool little place. They had
seals, little rides, nothing like the scary Pike that use to be down
there! Sadly Pier Point Landing is no longer there. I would have loved
to take my grandbabies there!
This is a picture of my dad holding Riley for the first time. He was so
excited and just kept saying, "your mom would have loved this baby".
I've told this story many times before about my mom passing away a few
days after Riley being born. My folks had been living in assistant
living at the time. My dad saw Riley at her funeral, but none of it
registered with him. He had Alzheimer's and was grieving over my mom. He
was such a "challenge" to me at the end. The things he did were comical
but the messages he use to leave on my answering machine at home were
so draining. I would work all week-end, come home from a BSC Sunday and
play my messages and hear, "Susan, this is your dad, we have NO cat
food, what are we supposed to do, our cats are going to starve to
death"! After my dad passed away and my sister and I were cleaning out
his room, we discovered cases of cat food everywhere. That was my dad,
torturing me to the very end! My dad, Pat the Irishman!
It's
funny when you've lost your parents and your own kids are grown. I see
so much of my dad in Bryce. His appearance, his efforts to fix
everything, and the way he loves his little Morgan, just like my dad did
with his girls. I know my dad would be SO excited to know Katie is
going to have a little boy pretty soon. Our family needs more boys. So,
tonight as I go out to dinner with my family for my birthday and
Father's Day, I will remember all the good things in my life. What our
past has taught us and what our future holds for us. When I got up this
morning, I had an email from my sweet "RuFie"! Here's what she sent me:
"Life is too short to wake up with regrets~so love the people who treat
you right~forget about the ones who don't~and believe that everything
happens for a reason and if you get a chance, take it~if it changes your
life, let it." Thinking of you today Dad!!
