Thursday, April 9, 2009

Insight from a 4 year old

So, this last week I have taken on a really fun project. Okay- maybe it's not fun for everyone, but it is ALL SORTS OF FUN for me! I have been converting all my parent's slides into full sized pictures (or at least jpeg's that can be printed full size). These slides are mostly of family and vacations, the family shots are of me and my sisters. There are a few with my younger brother, but for the most part, slides were a thing of the past by the time my baby brother was born (sorry David!). I promised my mom I wouldn't steal all the pictures, NOR would I post them all on my blog and facebook, etc. But I did have to share just one. Why? Because it was the one I was editing while I had an awesome conversation with Lilia.



(This is a picture of my dad, back before my parents were married. He passed away due to complications from an Aortic Aneurysm 11 years ago this week)

Lilia: Who is that? Is that your daddy?
Me: Yes, that IS my daddy.
Lilia: What is his name?
Me: His name is Joe, just like YOUR daddy.
Lilia: Wow. Our daddy's are named Joe! And he is died and in heaven with Jesus, huh?
Me: Yeah- he is in heaven.
Lilia: (placing her hand on my cheek and leaning her head to the side a bit) Do you miss him so much, momma?
Me: Yeah hun, I do.
Lilia: The bad guys were being mean to your father and that's how he died. But Jesus will make him alive again and then your father will come back and see you again. (She repeated this same version a few times and finally added) And I will see your father with you. That's where I am going to be.

Out of the mouths of babes often comes the most insightful and amazing thoughts. And I can't even begin to tell you how much I love Lilia for saying this to me tonight. It has been 11 years, and still the pain is there. I miss him just as much tonight as I did 11 years ago.

Sorry mom, I am going to share just a couple more pictures...

(My dad with his three girls... I am the baby)

(Dad taking me for a ride on my sister's bike)

(Dad showing his girls their new baby brother)

I have now written the end of this post some 4 times. Each ending sounded trite or too emotional. So I will end this with one sentence. I miss you Dad- and I love you.

5 comments:

Sariah said...

Beautiful post. Made me tear up. Lilia is precious. I love you, Pam!

Morgan said...

Made me teary as well! I am glad Lil said that to you!

What fun pictures!! My aunt has been doing the same with her slides and emailing me them here and there...it is so fun!

Diane Conn said...

Thanks for sharing those Pam. Lil is a sweetheart isn't she?!

And that 2nd picture brought back instant memories of playing all sorts of tag on that front lawn. Those were some good times!

(I had to explain to my kids what toilet tag is. Do you remember it?)

heidijogoody said...

This is so beautiful thanks for sharing!

Adventures in Healing said...

Aren't they great? We've had many a same discussion at my house.