Thank you, Dad!


Dad,

There is no way that I can remember all of the things that you taught me in life or how many times I decided to not heed your advice because I wanted to do it my way; only to discover that I should have just listened to you. It was you and mom that showed me how to treat others and how to not judge people by what is on the outside, but to measure a person by their actions. Have respect for myself and don’t let people walk over me. I know you were proud of the man I became, but I don’t know if you knew that it was because of you. I don’t know if I ever said thank you.

I love you!

October 5, 2012…that is the day that you had to leave this place and I still don’t know the reason why. Just a week earlier we were having fun celebrating my birthday. The day before you had told me how much fun you had and how we should make it a point to spend more time together. That’s still SO crazy to me and I’m sorry that we never got the chance. On October 6, 2012 our home team, The Ohio State, was set to play the Nebraska Cornhuskers. You were having chest pains on that Friday so you went to the ER at Bellevue Medical Hospital; A place that I hope to never step foot into again. They should have taken better care of you; I should have taken better care of you. Shift change, the reason they told me that they couldn’t send anyone in to see you. A concept that is hard for me to grasp because we were in the ER. 30 minutes go by and no one comes after repeated requests…The last of which was by me walking out into the hallway because you were in so much pain and wanted me to see when someone would be in.

When I walked back in the room and told you that the nurse said that he would let someone know you repeated what I said, “They will let someone know” and then you fell back on the bed. And it was there right in front of my eyes that you passed away. I was with you when you took your last breath, but your eyes were open so at the time I didn’t know. I think I began to know when the water that you had been drinking started to flow out of your mouth. It’s like I remember every moment. I’m sorry that I didn’t do more and that I didn’t pay more attention to what was going on. I was right there and was too consumed with my phone because I thought it wasn’t serious because they didn’t have you hooked up to any monitors or anything. I was wrong! It took me a while to let go of that anger and to forgive myself. I’m sorry!

Though this was the hardest thing that I ever had to endure there was another lesson for me to learn from your life. I needed to learn that life is short and that I should take advantage of any and every opportunity put in front of me. I don’t know if it was your plan to teach me this, but you did. I hate that things happened the way that they did and that I really didn’t get to say bye, but this pain was something I needed. This pain turned into motivation to want more; to need more. I NEED to smile every day, I NEED to help other people smile every day, I NEED to laugh, I NEED to have fun, I NEED to make a difference, I NEED to do whatever I NEED to do to find happiness. I cannot allow life to slip through my grasp. It’s like I was trying to watch a movie with one eye closed before you died and when you passed both eyes became open and now I can see the whole picture. I can see what’s important. Your death has given me life and because of you I am happy! With that last breath that I saw you take you breathed new life into me. Small Guy Promotions probably would not have been born if you hadn’t left. I didn’t know where this was going to go when I began to write it so I just let my fingers go. I said all of this to say, Thank you, Dad! I did listen this time and I know wherever you are that you are proud of how I have continued to live life. Thank you for teaching me so many lessons! I promise to spread happiness as far as my mind can reach.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

www.smallguypromo.com

In the Army

John Taylor Jr. – April 27, 1950 – October 5, 2012

 

Thank you for reading another Small Guy article. I wanted to tell the story of how Small Guy Promotions came to be and give my dad a proper Thank You. I hope you enjoyed it.

Sincerely,

Small Guy Promotions

Leave a Reply