MEMORIES OF RON ~ JULIE

  Any random day of the week, any number of times, Dad would sit at our kitchen table, chatting with us for hours.  When it was getting late, he'd sigh and say,  "Welp, I'm gonna get goin..."

(Spongebob voice:  2 hrs later...)    "Welp, I'm gonna get goin..."  He just never wanted to leave us.

  He and I would often talk about topics that were painful, one being death.   He firmly, FIRMLY, believed "when it's your turn to go, it's your turn to go" and there was nothing anyone could do about it.  He told me specifically twice this year that he was generally happy, but lonely, "but if I were to die today, I'd die happy.   I've lived a great life."   I thanked him every time he said anything like that to me, as painful as it was to hear.   

  On his way to the car, I'd make sure he heard me say "I love you" to which he would respond, "I love you more."   My response was simply, "I know."   He'd grin at me and carry on.