A Decade of Memories

Disclaimer - this is going to be a long one!

Today marks the 10th anniversary of my dad's passing.  Every year when October 1st rolls around, I never know quite how things will be for me.  It's a day just like any other, really.  I mean, I don't wake up on the 1st and miss dad more than I did the days or weeks before.  Nonetheless, the 1st is different.  It marks the passing of another year, full of all the daily activities and events, some huge, some small, that are life.  It's a reminder that the things my dad loved most about life went on without him.  He loved his family more than anything in the world, and when I stop to look back at my year, I see just how much I am like him in this regard.  I love my family, immediate and extended.  But more than that, I realize how much my dad has missed.

Through the years...

We didn't know it then, but this would be the last family picture taken of us

I knew that this year's anniversary was going to be different in the days and weeks leading up to today.  I started thinking about all the major changes that have occurred in my brothers/ and my life over the past decade and it made me sad for my dad.  I mean, I am always sad for me - my dad was my absolute hero, one of the most fun, generous and loving people I know, and not a day goes by that I don't think of him and miss him.  However, when I was considering all the things that have happened since dad passed, I became sad for him.  It breaks my heart to think about all the fun things that have happened to his family that he would have loved to have been a part of, and probably dreamt of being a part of as we were growing up, that he missed.  When I look at the pictures of these events, I imagine him there, and when I do, I always see him with his arm around us, beaming.  That's how it would have been!

Dad's biggest love was for mom

This got me thinking about our lives over the past decade and I realized how great the past 10 years have been.  I thought that I would take a quick trip down memory lane and post about that rather than dwell on the sadness that this day can bring.

What has Wes been up to???

Wes married beautiful Amanda in June of 2004

Welcomed Cole Jacob Klinger on March 20, 2005

Home Sweet Home.  Wes & Amanda bought their first home!

Jake's been busy!

Jake graduated High School with honors in June 2005

Jake joined the Army in 2006

Jake convinced the stunning Stephanie to be his wife.  They married Sept. 2011

The past decade has kept me busy too

I graduated from College in December 2001 and walked in Spring of 2002

I married my love Jonathan on March 12, 2005

We've redone bathrooms... 

...and installed flooring

All by ourselves - with Galen's guidance and Grammy's help of course

We welcomed Clare Madison Dease on February 27, 2010

We share my dad's Wanderlust (while ours takes us overseas often, it has yet to take us backpacking through the Middle East like his did)

Jennifer (a.k.a. Mom) - has watched it all happen

Mom has been present, excited and involved at all of our big events (and in our little events too).   She has seen kids graduate, get married, have babies, travel, defend our country, buy houses, cars, etc.  In short, she has watched us grow up and has stood by our sides, proud, the whole time.

Cuddling with Madilyn

Supporting her favorite Infatryman

Pulling Cole through WI

In addition to watching us grow, mom retired, travels, and has embraced her role as Grammy completely!

So, a lot of great things have happened in 10 years.  Things that would have been a source of pride for my dad.  Things that, had he been here to witness them, would have shown him what an amazing father he was.  At the end of the day, 10 years has flown by and I think that makes me the saddest.  It is hard to imagine that this defining event in my life happened 10 years ago when it feels like it was just yesterday. That is life however, and I will carry my dad with me through all the good and bad.  I still hear his voice in my head when trying to solve a problem or make a decision and I know he would be proud of the people his family have become.  I cherish the fact that Clare has his ears, that she sees a picture of him and recognizes him as "Papa", and that he instilled a love of life in all of us.  I am lucky to have had 21 years of being daddy's little girl with a father who I adored and who, to me, was larger than life!