"I'm thinking of..."

Yesterday, April 28th was yet another death anniversary in our family. Are you getting sick of  reading about these things on my blog???
 It was 15 years ago yesterday that my dad died after a 2 1/2 year battle with colon cancer with metastases (SP?) to the liver.  He had a tremendous quality of life after he received his diagnosis. My dad was all about the fact that he had lived a long and happy life. Dad would never let anyone say, "This could be your last (insert holiday or occasion here)". Let's just enjoy today. That was his attitude about his situation. He worked until a month before he died and in fact was in San Francisco when he figured out that he was in the final stages.Amazing.
Dad died on a Monday morning. We, meaning my siblings Sue, Jenny, Tom and his wife Ann, had spent most of the weekend with him in his hospital room at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. I know that he knew we were there, even though by Friday night he was deep in a coma. It was such a profound time, my first encounter with losing someone I loved dearly. There were many tears that weekend, but also laughs and incredible bonding with my siblings (not that we needed it). One of my favorite memories was a conversation between Sue and me. We were alone with my dad when we had this hushed exchange:
Sue: "I am thinking of cutting off a little bit of Dad's air"
me: "What???"
Sue: "Why? Do you think that is weird?"
me: "I think it is illegal!!!"
Sue: "Seriously? You think it's illegal to cut off a little bit of his hair? I'd like to have that, like a relic of a saint"
me: "Oh my gosh!!! I thought you said air! I thought you were thinking of cutting off some of his air, not hair!"
We laughed so hard, and now even 15 years later, it still makes me chuckle!
I am so darn thankful for my most amazing and loving father. His positive influence in my life is still felt today.
I love you, Dad!