When I was a little girl, I used to love riding to the store with my Daddy. He'd come out of the gas station with a sack, and I didn't have to ask what it was. A Yoo-Hoo drink and a Zero candy bar. Even as I got older, he never forgot the tradition. Daddy worked at night. He got home at 4:30 every morning. I could always find my Yoo-Hoo in the fridge when I got up for school. It was a small thing...it was a big thing.
After Brian and I got married, I looked forward to getting a phone call from Daddy every night when he was on his lunch break at 9pm. We'd chat about the day. Crack jokes with each other. Say good night and I love you. It was a small thing...it was a big thing.
One night, during our phone conversation, I mentioned that I wasn't feeling well. I had come down with a stomach bug, and I was miserable. It was the first time that I had been sick since moving out of my parents' house. I felt all alone without my Mama there to hold my hair back and keep the wash cloth on my forehead nice and cold, while Daddy refilled my Sprite. What can I say? I was an only child, and a terrible patient...a total wimp! Brian was working late, and wouldn't be home for a while. I was feeling pretty homesick (at least what I thought homesick was in the days that we lived nestled comfortably 15-20 minutes between Brian's and my parents). Anyway, I could tell on the phone that Daddy felt horrible about me being ill and home alone.
The next morning, at about 5:00, the phone rang. It was my Mom. She said, "Go open your front door." I thought I was either dreaming or she was crazy. But, I got up and went to the door anyway. When I opened it and looked down, I couldn't stop the tears. There on my front step were 2 bottles of Yoo-Hoo! My precious Daddy had stopped on his way home from work and brought me the one thing that he knew would make me feel a little closer to home and a little closer to him. And, it worked. I will never ever forget that feeling.
I know it sounds crazy, but it was over 2 years after he died before I could even look at a Yoo-Hoo, let alone drink one. One day, I went into the store to pay for gas; and for some reason, I bought a Yoo-Hoo. I got into my car, drank that delicious chocolatey goodness, and bawled my eyes out. Then, I felt the same feeling that I had felt that morning, as a newlywed standing barefoot on my front step...a little closer to home and a little closer to him.
It was a small thing...it was a BIG thing!
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Who's crying now:) You were and are so blessed!
ReplyDeleteYes, this made me cry. I lost my dad when I was 29 in 1985. He was 6 years younger than I am now. For years, I ran from the memories because they caused such sorrow and emptiness. I have missed him so much, especially during the special times that I know he would have enjoyed so much. Now, quite often, I purposefully (is that a word) do things that make me think about him knowing tears will come. The difference now is instead of leaving me sad and empty, its like a visit with him and makes me feel a little closer to him. I enjoy reading your blog. You really have a talent for writing.
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