Taking a Break 

As many of you may know, my wonderful, caring, loving father passed away 2 weeks ago at the age of 45. Needless to say it’s been a rough past couple weeks. Thank you for all of the love, prayers, and condolences. They’re very much appreciated❤️
Below is the letter I wrote to my dad following his passing that I read at his service.
Dear Dad,
I hope you know saying goodbye to you is probably the hardest thing that I’ve ever had to do, although there are a few things comforting me during this time. You lived a very fulfilling life and made the most of the 45 years that you were on this earth. You married twice, you birthed 4 phenomenal children and helped raise 2 more. You taught me all there needed to know about being a man. We went on plenty of vacations together. You taught me how to ride a bike, drive a car, how to fight, play basketball, fish, etc. You did everything a father was supposed to do and more. You were really a professional father. With your endless love and support my whole life, you’re definitely the reason I’m on the path to becoming the man I’m destined to be. You’ve given me more in 20 years than most dads have in their whole lifetimes. And we were just getting started too! I still gotta rank up in my military career that I just started, still gotta get married and have a family of my own. I still gotta make you proud of the man you raised me to be. And I needed you to be there for all of that. Now that you’re not it’s hard to find the motivation to do all of those things. And even though part of me wants to curl up in a ball and lie in a hole until all of this blows over and I wake up from this dream like reality, I know that you’ll be watching, and the only way to carry on your legacy proudly is to do all of those things. Dad, I’m so sorry that this happened to you and I couldn’t be there in your last moments. You’re truly the best dad in the world and I love you more than anything. I hope to see you on the other side one day, but in the mean time, just rest easy and just watch because everything I do for the rest of my life is dedicated to you and your loving memory. I love and miss you so much❤️