A Letter to My Dad

Dad,

I know that you're scared about what comes next and those storm clouds.  I want to tell you that I am not scared, and I am not scared for you or what happens after this life.  I wanted to remind you that you have a storm baby for a daughter, and that I have a storm baby for a daughter too, and so it follows through the generations.  And what we storm babies know is that while sometimes people think storms are scary, we are absolutely the most alive during a storm, the bigger the better.  We love to see the black clouds rolling in, thick and menacing.  We stand on hills when the wind blows fierce, laughing and hearing our laughter get swept away in it.  If there is a mountain, we climb up it to see if we can get in the middle of those clouds.  Instead of going inside like normal people, we grab our camera and go outside to try and capture a tiny bit of it.  We love when the thunder crashes so hard we can feel it in our chest, and when the lightning cracks from sky to earth.  We try to catch the rain on our tongues and let it drip from our hair.  We feel the energy of the storm race all through us so that we sparkle with it.  And when the storm is over and the clouds have gone, we know we will see the most beautiful colors.  We will find the best color purple in the world, that perfect purple sky that only ever comes after a big storm.  And we will see that perfect green, as if every speck of dust and dirt had been washed off the leaves and grass so that only then does the magnificent color come through.  And best of all, the gold edges on everything when the sun finally shines again, the most brilliant gold, touching everything under the sky as if every single thing were special and touched with love.  This is the time I know God loves us best, He made these colors for us, these colors that hint of hope to come.  This is the same God who made mountains and geodes, who made giant fields filled with tiny yellow buttercups.  He made black-capped chicakadees and eagles.  He made the wind and the sound of water over pebbles.  And I know that He made someplace special for us to go after we die.  I know in my heart that there is a heaven, and it is even more amazing than anything we have ever seen before or could even ever imagine.   Dad, my heart tells me that when it is time to go, when our time here is complete, He will lift us up so gently.  He will wipe us clean so softly and carry us up to this amazing place.  He will deliver us into the arms of the loved ones who are waiting there for us, and there we will wait in peace and joy for those we love to come.  I want you to know Dad that whenever you are ready to let go, it's OK.  Mom and I will be sad, but we will be OK.  I know that you will be watching over us from heaven.  Emma reminds me that you will be protecting us along with Jesse.  I know you will still get to see us and hear us and that you will still get to hear your granddaughters' voices from there.  And when our turns come too, we will be there with you.  And someday down he road we will all be there together.  I feel this in my heart, Dad, and I am not scared, or scared for you.  I know that all will be well, and we will all be together again.

I love you Dad.

All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.