On December 31, 2009, the family stood around our fathers bed, watching our best friend, mom's husband and our father, taking his last breaths. We wondered about life. We knew Pappa "Jerry" would be in Paradise soon, but really, all we could think about was the Dad right there in front of us. We were talking to him as his eyes drifted from one of us to the other. We kept telling him we loved him so much, thanking him over and over for being our father and husband. "Pappa, you will be with Jesus so soon, and soon we will all be together again.
As we wet his lips, and kept oxygen by his mouth to help him breath, the powerful man, our best friend, mom's husband and our father would soon leave us.
When we looked at Dad, that fighting spirit that was in his eyes, all the way up to that last breath, let us know Pappa was still with us. And.. at that very second, when it ended, at that very instant, that spark, that twinkle, that fighting spirit in his eyes was instantly gone. Instantly!
The angle that had stood over his bed took him home to the Father of all creation, over a glistening sea, a starry night and a full moon.
As Dad lay there, my wonderful sister Sonya, who has so much hope, ran and brought in her little laptop and as we sat next to Dad, she showed us a video similar to this one which we had never seen before. Even though our tears were flowing, we were filled with wonderfulI peace, peace that our human life is so short and God's plan is So Big.
We miss Dad so much. Our Buddy. But.. we will see him soon. Life goes by fast you know.
Dad, with all the great things he did on this earth, did not take one thing with him. He left his body behind, he did not even take a lung full of air, he just took his spirit. Or, his spirit took him, home to have a new body that would never pass away.
We made this video with new images for Dad's memorial on March 13th so it could be played up on the big screen. We hope you enjoy it and can share it with others. It really is just a tiny idea of the joy that is on the other side.
Dad and Mom inspiried us to give life our best. It led to a video called "Never Quit" that led to speaking at High Schools on Living a Clean Healthy Life, Honoring our parents, and how we as sons and daughters can help our parents (and ourselves) avoid Strokes and Brain bleeds. It then led to the Never Quit Beach Fest.
Join us there, every summer at Jacksonville Beach. This year will be on May 19, 2012, Armed Forces Weekend. Learn all about the event, Dad and so so much more at: neverquitnever.com/
Hope to see you there.
With love,
the Petroni's.