Dear Daddy,

I’ve known this day was coming for a long time, but I wasn’t entirely prepared for it. I suppose it’s impossible to let someone you love go without a roller coaster of emotions, and the last few years have been quite the ride, haven’t they?

I knew that letting go would be difficult, but I continued to remind myself that this is the day you lived your entire life for. The tears come but are quickly replaced –  knowing that your spirit lives on. I imagine that your last breath here was quite the celebration in Heaven. I picture you being wrapped in Jesus’ loving arms hearing, “Well done, H.M., well done.” I’ll bet it was quite the reunion with family and friends.

Daddy, there are so many things to say that I hardly know where to begin. I do know that I will be forever thankful that God chose you for me. You have helped me to be the person I am today. To be raised by a mother and father with the character, morals, and values that you so desperately tried to instill in me is my greatest blessing. You were the man who always talked the talk and walked the walk, said what you meant and meant what you said, and you certainly did not spare the rod and spoil the child.

Now, here is my attempt to thank you for just a few of the things that mean a lot to me:

• Thank you for teaching me the meaning of a hard day’s work, even though that lesson was learned in the tobacco fields at eight years old.
• Thank you for every spanking I ever got – all 210 of them.
• Thank you for teaching me to be a respecter of all people – that’s gotten me far in life.
• Thank you for making sure I was in church every time the doors were open – it made it easier for me to find my way home when I was lost.
• Thank you for funding our beach trips every summer – even though you would come down only when it was safe to leave your crops.
• Thank you for working so hard to take care of us – you were a good provider.
• Thank you for teaching me to fish, and always having a pond to fish in.
• Thank you for being there for my boys when I was not available.
• Thank you for never giving up on me – your prayers helped.
• Thank you for telling me, “You’ve made your bed, now lay in it,” “You’ve got a long row to hoe,” and especially “If you’re going to do something, do it right or don’t do it at all.”
• Thank you for your sense of humor, never crude, but a sharp, dry wit with perfect timing.
• Thank you for life on the Durden Farm. Not many people I know understand toting tobacco, bow loads, or firing barns.
• Thank you, Daddy, for being Daddy.

I love you and will see you soon.

Pee Wee