And Then There Was One...

A few months ago my dad showed me this picture saying it was his favorite and that he was so happy then.  I also had a copy of this picture and it was my favorite too. My sweet father, Edgar Evans Riebsomer,died Sunday, January 15, 2012 at the age of ninety-one. I had the privilege of being there with him as he quietly slipped away, suffering no more. It’s been a long journey for him. It was a life well-lived, a life to be celebrated.

My dad is holding my brother and me on his lap in the picture. My brother,Dennis Evans Riebsomer, died in April 2011 and now my dad has passed, yet I don’t feel alone. I feel Dad’s love all around me. My brother lived a chaotic life and I hope he is at peace. I know my dad is at peace because he was ready to go.

Dad taught me that love was not finite and that the more you gave, the more you received. He loved and gave to us all unconditionally. He taught me how to parent unselfishly, to let my son be who he wanted to be.

He worked hard his whole life and worked part-time for about fifteen years after he “retired.” He was the youngest of seven and cared for all of his siblings as they aged. He played tricks on us every chance he got. His glass eye was his favorite prop. Dad was Santa Claus personified and played him for families and at parties for years. When Dad hugged you, you knew everything would be alright.

I know there were times that I hurt him, but he never made me feel guilty. He was simply always there, and now he’s not. I’m sure I will feel lost at some point, now I just feel relief that he is no longer suffering as he had been for almost two years. When I arrived two days before his death, he was unresponsive after a fall that caused a brain bleed. It was only a matter of time at that point. I spent the next two nights sitting up with him and quietly talking to him about how much I loved him and about all of his family who would be so happy to see him again. I just talked about anything I could think of to bring him comfort. I hope he heard me; I have to believe that he did.

Rebekah for the Poplar Grove Muse