Dad

So, Thanksgiving weekend was the first time I've been to Utah and, in turn, visited the cemetery since my Dad passed away. Last time I was there was on February 24, the day we left to come back home to San Diego. In April his headstone was installed as was his name on the Veterans Memorial, located just a few feet from his grave site. It was a pretty surreal site to see his name engraved on the granite, and it once again sunk in to me that it was all final. I knew that returning home was going to be hard, but I also knew that it would be good for me. I was really looking forward to see the grave and the memorial.
Probably one of the weirdest things was walking into the house for the first time and not seeing him in his white recliner, watching TV or reading a book. He'd always be in that chair, then, when we would walk in, he'd get right up and come greet us. It signified that we were home. So that was a little hard, but it was okay. Mom came rushing to the door when we came in, and it was so great to see her, and give her a big hug. It did feel good to be home again. I don't want her to feel like her house isn't home anymore, because it does feel like home, it's just a little different. I know that a lot of the family is having a very hard time with everything, but I just hope they don't forget about her, and that it is still home to them even though Dad/Grandpa isn't there any more. He is there in spirit anyway, watching over everyone.
We had a wonderful time up in Utah, but it went way too fast. It was definitely a melancholy trip at times, just remembering my Dad, and missing him a lot, but it was great to be able to spend a lot of time with the family and see a bunch of old friends again.