So here's the short of it, 

 "To her the name of father was another name for love."
~~By Fanny Fern.~~

And here's the long

Today Alan and I went to First Cumberland Presbyterian to be with Mom for the installation of Dr. Carver as their minister.  He came to the church as an interim minister to serve until they found another minister after Reverend Schenk left.  He had not been there long before Dad's surgery.  He was such a source of strength for Mom and Dad during those long weeks at Erlanger and then at Kindred.  He rarely missed a day of visiting with Dad.  He always shared a scripture and prayer with him.  I know that meant so much to Dad who had as a part of his morning routine always to read his Bible and pray for the list of people he kept updated on his latest legal pad. He was also at the house in the middle of the night after Dad died and conducted a funeral service that was wonderfully comforting to the family.

When Alan and I got there we sat in the seats we thought were those that Mom and Dad usually occupied.  Apparently we were wrong!  We ended up seated much further up front than Mom and Aunt Joyce!  The service was lovely.  The first hymn was "We Gather Together", and as the choir and congregation started singing I could almost hear Dad's voice ringing down through the years singing that song at this time of year in the various churches we attended as we were growing up. I have cried off an on most of the rest of the day as images and memories of Dad crowd my mind.  At one point Alan walked out of the church and I followed him - he was wiping his eyes.  He told me that yesterday, he thought he'd be able to clean up the garden that Dad helped us with every year since we've been in this house, with the exception of this year.  He said he got about half way through and just sat down and cried.  Most of the time I'm doing just fine and moving along and working and doing the things I do in my normal life, and then sometimes most unexpectedly something will happen and I am plunged deeply into my grief.