Thanks to all who have written, commented, etc., in response to my extremely brief post of Wednesday morning. Here’s a little more information.

Dad was 83, and not in good health. He had Alzheimers, and a number of physical ailments, so his passing was not a complete surprise.

And yet, somehow, it was. We knew he was unlikely to be with us for more than another year or so, if that; but at the same time we weren’t expecting it to be this week, or this month. And at that, he surprised us—instead of dying from any of the ailments we were well aware of, he had a massive heart attack, and it was over, just like that. All in all, it wasn’t a bad way to go.

Dad was a life-long Catholic; and if (as I’ve remarked elsewhere) we weren’t Holy-Day-Of-Obligation Catholics, we were at least Every Single Sunday Catholics. Dad kept that up his entire life. I’m grateful that I returned to the Catholic Church when I did, as we were able to bring him with us to Mass every week, and he got to sit with his grandchildren. I think that was his favorite time of the week.

I’m looking forward to seeing him again one day (not too soon, I trust)…and I rejoice, knowing that when I do he’ll once again have his wits about him.

In the meantime, life goes on. My two boys are performing tonight as the youngest (male) cast members in a production of 42nd Street down at the high school auditorium. They’re in the chorus; they also get to be bodyguards for a mob enforcer. (This is what we call “comic relief.”) I went and saw the show on opening night, last night, and it was a delight all the way through. Jane’s watching tonight; and tomorrow we’re going to take the girls and Jane’s mom to the matinee. Aunts and Uncles are going tomorrow evening, and I just hope the boys have anything left by then.

It’s still hard.