Daddy

I had an amazing time during Christmas break. Both my children came home and stayed a week. My only brother drove for thirteen hours with his three children as well. It was about nine of us, huddled and happy, for ten days.

Our final night together was the most magical one, as we all tried to savor every minute of it. We lingered at the table for hours, telling jokes and laughing, and making great memories. By the time everyone went to bed, I was left with a massive amount of dishes. They quickly found their way to the dishwasher, as the leftovers were being snugly tucked away into the fridge.

I finally turned off all the lights, sat on the sofa – the sofa that had been my bed for over a week, since all bedrooms were being occupied by the guests – and admired the lights on the Christmas tree. Peace filled my heart. I said a quick prayer, thanking God for the awesome blessing. I also mentioned daddy saying, “He would’ve been proud of us tonight…I wish he could’ve seen us…” Daddy passed away ten years ago. He was seventy eight. The thought of him still warms my heart. My eyes were teary for a second, as I pulled the covers over my head and fell asleep on the sofa.

The next morning, my son woke up first, and said, “Good morning… you two sure were having a good ole time on the sofa last night.” He smiled. “Us two?” I asked. He said, “You and your brother. I got up to use the bathroom and saw you two chatting away. He was doing most of the talking though.” I asked, “Were the lights on?” He said,”No…just the Christmas tree lights.” Then I told him that by that time everyone had already gone to bed; that I too was asleep; and that it was most likely our daddy who had visited us just to let us know he was proud of us.

You see, daddy and my brother sound alike. It would be hard to tell them apart. I truly believe, even though I didn’t get a chance to see him in person, daddy wanted for us to know he was still very much a part of our family. So it would be fair to conclude that he was my first visitor this year, the early morning of New Year’s Day. What a blessing! God is good!

Alis Cerrahyan