BIG

There’s an old Tom Hanks movie called Big. It’s about a young boy who wakes up one morning “big”; adult size yet with the same young boy brain. It’s a funny movie that I have watched a few times times. I thought of this movie because of its title. The word big reminds me of my dad.

While Dad’s wife, my sister, and I sat in that special room on Monday morning waiting to be with him for the last time, we shared our thoughts of Dad with hospice and the chaplain. All I could think of to describe Dad was that he was big. His personality was big. His presence was big. He lived life big. My sister and his wife shared many examples and aspects of his life that reflected just how big Dad was. He made friends everywhere he went. And, for the most part, he kept them. He took big adventures, like living on his sailboat out on the ocean. I wrote about that a few days ago but had forgotten that he even sailed to Belize.

Dad travelled to other countries too. There’s a story about a red bandanna that I will share at a later date once I ask about the details and refresh my memory. I believe the bandanna story took place in Africa.

Dad has a home in Italy. He would stay for a couple of months at a time and still has many friends there. Here at home, he’d visit an authentic Italian bakery every morning, except for Mondays when they are closed, for coffee and something homemade to eat. He made jokes and conversation with everyone there and they fell in love with him. His Celebration of Life open house is to be held there on Thursday evening.

As a young girl growing up with him as my father, I respected him. I didn’t want to cross him in the least bit. It wasn’t that I was worried about corporal punishment. It was because I just didn’t want to let him down. Of course, as I grew into my teens, I did stupid teen stuff and I sometimes crossed him. And I would feel bad.

My Dad was big. (That really hurts 💔 to say in past tense.) We were definitely not two peas-in-a-pod, but rather more like a pair of mismatched socks. Regardless, we loved each other as father and daughter and he will always remain BIG in my heart. ♥️

Andi

Photos: poppies from my trip to Italy