Wendi {at random}

I just love my new blog template. It makes me think of the beach.

OK, the thought is over.
This is wintertime.

I had a dream about Daddy last night. It was such a warm, soft blanket kind of dream. Daddy was at his best, his strongest. No cancer, no rheumatoid arthritis, no weight loss or fatigue. It was the middle of the night, and he was slipping into his tan winter jacket before going to help out the men in Coeburn.

In true life, Dad HATED snow with every fiber of his being. And whenever the first flakes started to coat our mountain roads, he would launch into Town Manager Mode, hop in his town car (that's town with a lowercase t, mind you), and drive the 15 minutes down the road to be with the men. He'd stay at the public works department till the roads were plowed. He wasn't overseeing the men, though. He was helping, encouraging. Sometimes he'd take a turn at the snow plow. But always he just wanted to be there because it was the right thing to do.

Whenever I asked him why he was such a wet blanket about snow, he'd offer his soft-spoken, oft-said monologue about the men and how they would have to leave their families to go take care of the town, and that he thought that was just a terrible thing. So Daddy sacrificed his own family time to stand with his men in solidarity. Then he'd come home, usually exhausted and hungry, and he'd be back with us.

This was my real-life dad. I always accepted his work ethic and loved him. But I never realized how special his brand of caring was until one of Coeburn's men talked to me at the side of Dad's casket a year ago. He reminded me of those snow plow days, how Daddy always showed up no matter the time. He even told me that Dad sometimes brought along our Elkhound/Shepherd Candie for company. I hadn't remembered that. Candie the Snow Plow Dog, the man called her. I swear, there were tears glistening in the corners of this man's eyes when he told me that story. Never had I been more proud of the man I called Dad.

This is Dad with Benjy at my cousin's wedding in 2007.