Bittersweet memories...

This is my entry for The Queen of Spain's monthly contest. I almost decided not to post this, it's such a personal thing to me but ultimately I decided that dad would like it. I hope you do too.



This is probably one of the most bittersweet pictures that I'll ever take. This is a picture taken of my parents, my son, and myself in December of 2004. I had just received my Masters degree when we stopped and posed for this picture. He was so sick that none of us thought that he'd make it. I think that this was the very last time my father ever made it out of the house for a non medical reason. He was completely humiliated to be seen in this wheelchair and in tremendous pain, but he hung on because he wanted to see me graduate. He was such an amazing person, so strong and so devoted to his family. He made this trip and worked through his own pride just to be there to take this picture with me. Nothing in my life will ever mean more to me than that. He died on August 1, 2005. This was the last picture taken of us as a family. I wonder if he knew how much it meant to me that he was there, somehow, I think he did.