This Is Where I'm From.

Day #4 and we are still in Louisiana.  Why are we in Louisiana for our family vacation?  This is where I am from...I bet you didn't know I was born in Louisiana! 

Both of my parents were born in Louisiana and my family roots are here.


Today is the 3rd anniversary of my dad's death.  There are times that it feels like he has been gone forever and then moments when it seems like it was just yesterday that he left us. It's hard to be here in Louisiana without him.  I sometimes expect to see him in the fields with his cows, there have been times that I believed that I did see him way out there.  There is no longer the smell of cigarettes in my mother's house, the adventurous road trips into the swamps and bayou and the festive parties that he would throw in our honor are not quite as grand as when he would throw a party.  There is a void in Louisiana without my dad here.  I feel it, my girls feel it and Eric feels it.  We are happy to be here with my mom and my brother, it has been a great visit, but I will always miss my dad when I come to Louisiana.

I was feeling very sentimental and nostalgic today.  I wanted to go visit the hospital where I was born, I bought an Opelousas t-shirt (the city where I was born), went to take pictures of my grandfather's church, which he founded and preached at for many years and visited 2 of my dad's sisters. 

I am thankful for my beautiful family today.  There are so many lessons about being a parent and raising a family that my dad taught me.  Many of those lessons, I paid absolutely no attention to when he was "preaching" them to me, but many of them I truly understand, respect and honor. 

I miss you and love you forever daddy.