Thanksgiving without you Dad, but the cheese tray is full!

Along with so many others

glancing at an empty chair

this Thanksgiving

our family will be missing

one very special man.

Eddie, Dad, Papa!

The idea of our first formal holiday

since he passed,

not having him in the middle

of all the chaos

seems rather pointless

to even celebrate.

Dad had a way of making his rounds

with everybody

and usually keeping us in stitches.

The rules were simple

when it came to holiday festivities,

 Mom did all the planning and preparing

(with Mama of course)

and delegating us girls

as to what we could contribute to the big feast.

 Dad would simply be Mom’s chauffeur

to and from the grocery store

but his main function for turkey day

was what he did best,

Entertainment director!

He wasn’t much of a drinker the last few years

but when he did open a beer,

I used to laugh at him

because he would say things like,

“if your Mother asks, this is my first one!”

or

“have a beer with me so I’m not drinking alone!”

I would laugh even harder

because after 50 years of marriage,

Mom knew more about his behaviour

than he did most of the time

but it never got old

and was always amusing to watch.

It’s hard to imagine his wonderful presence

that won’t be sitting with us

and how it really won’t ever be the same

without him,

but while remembering some of those fun times,

something came to mind.

Although his physical presence is missing,

his spirit still has so much power.

In every story we share,

or every moment we remember

Dad will really be with us.

Chances are he’ll be

hovering in the kitchen

and probably wondering when

Mama will start making her gravy

or sneaking cheese from the platter in the fridge

knowing if Mom caught him,

she’d holler,

“Eddie, get out of there, that’s for later!”

I would imagine when the camera’s come out,

(and that is standard Stewart tradition if you are a first time reader)

he’ll be in every shot

doing what he loved doing the most,

being a total ham

(or should I say Turkey)

Case in point: Thanksgiving 2012

I think the biggest thing to remember

why I should possibly be thankful

is he gave us so many memories

to be thankful for

regardless of what we are dealing with this year.

I actually started to dread this day

but the one thing that keeps

popping into my mind

is he would be heartbroken

if we didn’t continue to love life

and treasure making new memories

as a family

even without him.

I am sure he is so proud of us

although we are all grieving

in our own ways

yet I can envision that little smile is on his face

knowing that we have all come together

not to be saddened

but more so

to gather and regain,

even more strength.

I can’t lie and say it will be easy

not having him here

however he’s been alongside us all along

and nothing made him more at peace

than being thankful

having his family surrounding him.

So if by chance you have an empty chair

and struggling a bit this Thanksgiving

there is a good possibility

those we are missing

are very busy working the room

and if that doesn’t help,

you may wanna check

the cheese platter in the fridge 😉

From our family to yours…

Happy Thanksgiving and may God bless!