One of the many things my father instilled in me was a deep and abiding love of Emily Dickinson poetry.  For that I am thankful...in her words I often find solace that I can't find elsewhere.  And, on more than one occasion, I've used Emily Dickinson poems to convey to my daddy things that were to hard to say in a simple conversation.  When I got married, I gave him a picture frame that was inscribed with the phrase "I'm nobody, who are you?"  Language that probably seems odd on a father/daughter gift, but I know spoke volumes to my father when he opened it.  When I searched for a title for this post, the opening line of "I could not stop for death" instantly came to mind...it seems so appropriate.

My father died this morning, just before sunrise.  How like him to wake up early and go.  He was always an early to bed, early to rise kind of man.  I feel peace this morning mixed with waves of sorrow, much like the Gulf of Mexico early in the morning.  I am unbelievbly thankful for the time I had to spend with him over the last few months, both the good times and the bad.  I am thankful for the gifts he gave me...the ones I'll carry with me the rest of my life.  I have stories and stories swirling in my head that need to find their way to paper sometime, but now I'll just say this.  Today, Heaven gained a beautiful mind, a rapier wit, and a wicked sense of humor (and yes, he gave that to me, too).  I miss him.