Unconventional

I think what I love the most about the relationship between my Mom and Dad is that it was the kind of relationship that no one besides them could ever understand. It certainly wasn't anything out of a fairytale, but it also wasn't anything to be ashamed of. They loved each other, and no one could deny that. If everything happens for a reason, then there was a pretty significant reason why these two love birds met. I can say with confidence that no one on this planet has the strength of my mom. When I say she will love a person through everything, no matter what, I'm not kidding. She could have easily walked away from the situation, instead she helped him through everything. The good, the bad, and the ugly. My father was so sick for the majority of my life so it was up to my mother to raise my brother and myself. Through all of this, she has never asked for recognition, she just did it. Honestly she deserves an award for being such an outstanding mother and wife.

My brother and my Dad had one of the most bizarre relationships; it consisted of laughter, frustration, and tons of emotion. I truly believe that the reason their relationship was this way was because my brother is so perfect, and I mean that! He is the perfect human being that nearly everyone would be jealous of. He is in great shape, knows what he wants in life, and more importantly he knows what he doesn't want in life. I look at pictures of my Dad from when he was in his twenties, and damn was he nothing but the identical resemblance of my brother today. This scared Aj because it meant that he could easily become as sick as my father was if he wasn't careful. I think my Dad was jealous of Aj, and that is why they fought so much. However, I was always jealous of the two of them. They could argue and fight for long periods of time, but then at the end of the night they would be best friends again. The conversations that they would have are a special little secret that Aj has to hold onto for the rest of his life, what a gift.

My relationship with my father was prefect. Not trying to sound conceded, but I was the epitome of a "Daddy's Girl." He spoiled me with his love, and never got angry with me. His patience was always on thin ice, but with me he was able to relax and be himself. We were weird and spunky; one would never get embarrassed by the other. I get my goofiness from him, so thank you for that Dad. I will never forget the day that the doctors told him that he would be starting Hospice, he lost all hope and finally realized that his end was near. As I got off the elevator at the hospital I could hear the wails coming from his room and the voice of my mom trying to calm him down. When I walked in I witnessed the most upset my father had ever been in his life. He wouldn't let anyone touch him, but as I approached him, he let him arms out for me to hold him. He was in my arms, shaking and making noises that I didn't know were humanly possible. After a few minutes he finally calmed down. As selfish as this may sound, I would like to take credit for that.

This leads me to his burial. Some people were upset that they weren't invited, but sorry folks, this was supposed to be private and you're going to have to get over it. From what I explained above, you can see that the three of us were the closest people my Dad had in his life. So, instead of having a bunch of random people there we decided to keep it small. Just the three of us for one last family fist bump. No one came and spoke, it was just us three speaking from our hearts. That is something we can hold onto forever that no one can take away from us.

Who cares if it was a bit unconventional? Unconventional is what our family is all about.