Lenny

With the official Father’s Day holiday today, I have been thinking a lot about my own father, Lenny. Truth be told, I think about my dad all the time and don’t really need “the third Sunday in June” to remember the great person that he was, but I will anyway. 

His smile, his friendliness and genuine interest in others around him, were all things that made him so loved by so many people. Dad had a way with people, no matter who they were – from the CEO's that he interacted with, to the janitor who cleaned his office every night. He was firm in his beliefs but somehow had that magical way of making others feel that their ideas were important and considered. His love of music was never-ending, and one of our favorite car ride activities as kids was singing the "Harmony" game with Dad.  

It’s still hard to imagine that he has been gone almost seven years. He died peacefully in the early morning on July 5th, 2003 with me, my sisters and mother by his bedside. (We now joke that he decided to go out with a bang, amidst all those Fourth of July fireworks that previous evening!) So much has happened between then and now that I wish Dad could have witnessed– my graduation from art school, meeting my husband, our wedding, and now meeting our daughter – but I truly do believe that in some way or another he is still always a part of our lives.

As a parent now myself, I have gained a new respect and appreciation for all that my parents have done for me. I wish I could call my dad today and tell him how thankful I am for all the commitment and sacrifices he made for us throughout the years, and to let him know that I finally “get it”. Instead, I will do my best to keep his spirit alive by passing along the same unconditional love and devotion that he gave his own children and one grandson he was able to meet. Although Liana won’t get to know her Grandpa (Didi) Lenny, I am so grateful that she has her own amazing “Dada” to look up to and spend Father's Day with.

This sweet poem, entitled “Afterglow” was the one that we chose for Dad’s memorial card, and it really captures the essence of his spirit.

 

I’d like the memory of me

to be a happy one.

I’d like to leave an

afterglow of smiles

when life is done.

I’d like to leave an echo

whispering softly

down the way,

Of happy times and

laughing times, and

bright and sunny days.

I’d like the tears of those

who grieve, to dry before

the sun, of happy memories

that I leave when life is done.