RobinRTrueJoy
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My Dad passed away at 845pm on New Year's day. He is finally dancing with my Mom, the only love of his life, who passed away far too young at the age of 58.
My Dad lost a lot of himself when my Mom died in 1993. He has wanted to be with her since then, although he never really gave up on life, because of us kids( even though we are grown) I believe he is finally happy and complete again.
Their love was magic, just like in fairy tales ,even though their "happily ever" after was far too short.
My Dad gave his all for my Mom and us kids. We were so very lucky to have him.
Dad was extremely intelligent but not boastful or bragging.He could work out algebra or trigonometry problems in his head and give you the right answer. He could fix anything or build anything. He was patient and wise, giving support when it was needed, advice when it was asked for, and was always there to listen.
Dad was the only one that would listen patiently when I would go on and on about the minis. He would quietly look at pictures of horses that I "wanted to buy", hugging me when a foal was lost, listening to my crazy plans for the horses, never telling me that I was reaching too far. Dad loaned me money once(paid back in full in 2 weeks) to buy a homozygous pinto mare in foal and her current year's colt. He said it was a good buy and I should not miss them. Whenever you see a TrueJoy horse with GGA in it's name... those are my Dad's initials, to honor my Dad.
Dad went with me and my sister Barb to the AMHA Nationals back in 1997. On the long drive to Lexington Va. we listened to tapes of Jeff Foxworthy's Redneck jokes. He loved that! So did I! We laughed so hard! On the way home we listened to"Queen" He always surprised me at all the diverse things that he knew. Who would have thought that my Dad knew the words to Queen's "We are the Champions" ! Boy, could he belt that out!
A couple of years ago, right before foaling season, Dad had a stroke and came to recover at my house. He learned to walk again. One night I woke up hearing water break on the barn cam. I ran out to the barn. Carmen dressed and knocked on Dad's door to tell him we would be in the barn foaling out a mare. It was such a surprise to find him standing over me, quad cane holding him up,leaning to one side, fully dressed, watching me turn a foal that was all wrong. He dressed himself and toddled all the way out to the barn. The foal made it. The mare had been very shy, never handled before I bought her a few months before, but after the foaling, she got up and was loving on my Dad. He had a way with animals. The picture of him taken that night,, that mare and newborn foal are on the foal page of my web site.
On Sunday night, just two nights before he died, I brought our old Rottweiler, "Roxy" to the hospice to visit Dad. She was his dog really, she loved him more than any other human. She was perfectly behaved, you would have thought she was a certified therapy dog. One of the last things my Dad did, right before he slipped into a coma was to hug Roxy and pet her. It made him very happy.
Carmen took Roxy home and I stayed. Dad suddenly called us all around his bedside and told us how much he loved us, to stick together and take care of each other. Then he told us to go home( we didn't) then he said "Bye-Bye" He imediately went to sleep and never woke up. It was like he decided when that would happen, on his own terms.
I will miss him forever.
Thanks for listening.
Robin
My Dad lost a lot of himself when my Mom died in 1993. He has wanted to be with her since then, although he never really gave up on life, because of us kids( even though we are grown) I believe he is finally happy and complete again.
Their love was magic, just like in fairy tales ,even though their "happily ever" after was far too short.
My Dad gave his all for my Mom and us kids. We were so very lucky to have him.
Dad was extremely intelligent but not boastful or bragging.He could work out algebra or trigonometry problems in his head and give you the right answer. He could fix anything or build anything. He was patient and wise, giving support when it was needed, advice when it was asked for, and was always there to listen.
Dad was the only one that would listen patiently when I would go on and on about the minis. He would quietly look at pictures of horses that I "wanted to buy", hugging me when a foal was lost, listening to my crazy plans for the horses, never telling me that I was reaching too far. Dad loaned me money once(paid back in full in 2 weeks) to buy a homozygous pinto mare in foal and her current year's colt. He said it was a good buy and I should not miss them. Whenever you see a TrueJoy horse with GGA in it's name... those are my Dad's initials, to honor my Dad.
Dad went with me and my sister Barb to the AMHA Nationals back in 1997. On the long drive to Lexington Va. we listened to tapes of Jeff Foxworthy's Redneck jokes. He loved that! So did I! We laughed so hard! On the way home we listened to"Queen" He always surprised me at all the diverse things that he knew. Who would have thought that my Dad knew the words to Queen's "We are the Champions" ! Boy, could he belt that out!
A couple of years ago, right before foaling season, Dad had a stroke and came to recover at my house. He learned to walk again. One night I woke up hearing water break on the barn cam. I ran out to the barn. Carmen dressed and knocked on Dad's door to tell him we would be in the barn foaling out a mare. It was such a surprise to find him standing over me, quad cane holding him up,leaning to one side, fully dressed, watching me turn a foal that was all wrong. He dressed himself and toddled all the way out to the barn. The foal made it. The mare had been very shy, never handled before I bought her a few months before, but after the foaling, she got up and was loving on my Dad. He had a way with animals. The picture of him taken that night,, that mare and newborn foal are on the foal page of my web site.
On Sunday night, just two nights before he died, I brought our old Rottweiler, "Roxy" to the hospice to visit Dad. She was his dog really, she loved him more than any other human. She was perfectly behaved, you would have thought she was a certified therapy dog. One of the last things my Dad did, right before he slipped into a coma was to hug Roxy and pet her. It made him very happy.
Carmen took Roxy home and I stayed. Dad suddenly called us all around his bedside and told us how much he loved us, to stick together and take care of each other. Then he told us to go home( we didn't) then he said "Bye-Bye" He imediately went to sleep and never woke up. It was like he decided when that would happen, on his own terms.
I will miss him forever.
Thanks for listening.
Robin
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