Irregularly Andy

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March 30, 2005

One more trip home

This weekend, I'll be making one more trip home to the place where I grew up and my parents have lived for pretty much all of my life. I say one more because I've been there twice in the last month in order to help my family clean out the house following my father's passing.

It has been quite emotional for me. I find myself quite in awe of my father's resourcefulness and ingenuity. I have brought some treasures back with me like a wooden folding chair (and the small-scale model that my father made before he made the final version), various wooden toys and puzzles, a wooden rocking horse that I'll perhaps see my own son or daughter (maybe) ride someday, even one of my father's interesting inventions for hunters... something of a wooden gun stand that he called a hoopah stick (inspired by the Kender weapon of similar name in the DragonLance series of books).

He also developed quite a compulsion for keeping things... Like years worth of old church bulletins and records of the work he did on jobs many years ago. Sometimes, he kept things for no good reason (except for maybe the pure pleasure of watching a collection of things grow piece by piece) but he also kept things for reasons which we will never understand... but I can only suspect that he had an ingenious & resourceful purpose in mind. Why else would someone save hundreds of the small plastic drink mix cups from packages of Crystal Light?

For the most part, though, my family seems to be doing pretty well. I am getting better... I do have my moments of sadness and sometimes anger, though... For example: Knowing his heart condition, and knowing what events lay ahead in the near future, why couldn't he have gone to the hospital earlier rather than let the flu do so much damage to his body in such a short period of time?... and... Why didn't I know earlier about his condition? Why didn't I call more often and talk to my parents? Why didn't I drop everything that first weekend that I heard he wasn't doing well and go see him before he died? Why did an optomistic monday night outlook turn into a Wednesday afternoon "could go at any time" outlook? I can only wonder about these things for now.

I am very glad though that I'll meet up with my father again someday. I wonder if he will get to invent things in heaven. I imagine there could be a fantastic workshop there. Maybe I'll even find out what he had in mind for those Crystal Light cups.

Posted by Andrew at March 30, 2005 11:07 PM

Comments

Hi Andy,

If you need some help or company, I could get to Montoursville (or was it Williamsport?) without much trouble this weekend, or meet you halfway (Sunbury?)for lunch.

Posted by: Ross Karchner at March 31, 2005 01:25 AM

Ditto dude, if ya need any help gimme a call. Gimme a call when ya get in and I come over and help ya. How's the wedding plans going? I'm so excited!!! ~Mike

Posted by: Michael J. Swartz at March 31, 2005 09:59 PM