So here's the short of it,

My Dad died last night. 

And here's the long

This morning I woke to a world with a whole new landscape. It's a world where I now only have my Dad in memory; not as a person with whom I can have dinner, debate global warming, or ask what to do about my leaning apple tree. Gazing down the street I see the turn that goes around to Mom and Dad's house -  it's  become the turn that goes around to Mom's.

The family prayed mightily for a miracle to return Dad to us after the stroke following his surgery.  I know that those who follow his blog or this one joined in those prayers. Today I know that we did have a miracle - my Dad's whole life was a miracle and we were blessed to have him for the years that we did.

I also know as I look out the window to the apple tree he planted for us a few years ago and see its lean, that I'll just have to remember what he did when the little Redbud I planted a few years ago almost didn't make it. I'll take that lesson, and Alan or one of the kids will help me make a brace for the tree and give it a year or two to grow strong under the guidance of a strong upright - almost like what he did for his children and grandchildren in the years they bent under the winds of the world. Dad taught his children and grandchildren how to live far more by example than any other way. His kindness, generosity of spirit, and extraordinary love of the world were amazing to behold in his daily life.

And in this new landscape I'm inhabiting, I'll have to look into my memory to the miracle of my Dad's life and take the lessons I can remember and hope that I can transform them into a way of living without him.