New Year, New Apologies

A lot has happened since I last posted to this blog. The year changed on the calendar, Christmas, my Dad died, and I fell off the wagon on my diet. I guess a lot things happen between postings when you only update your blog on a semi-annual basis. So like the title says I would like to apologize to all the people who checked daily for the last 2 months for a word from me.

2006
I don't have much to say about a new calendar year. I never planned to live this long. I am only 27 but somehow when I was growing up I couldn't imagine beyond the year 2000 (which of course, I pictured would have flying cars like the end of Back to the Future.) So now I feel like I am out in no-man's land in the middle of this decade. Will I live to see 2020? I don't know. Will Jesus come back soon? Well, we are certainly closer than we have ever been before to the end of the world (and tomorrow we will be even closer and the day after that...)

CHRISTMAS
This Christmas was the first year with our baby. Technically, Karen was pregnant with our daughter, Abigail, last Christmas but she was probably the size of a pear at the time and really only cared about hanging out in the womb. Now that she is 7 months old, Abigail is cuter than ever. Everybody fawned over her and bought her a truckload of presents. Abigail enjoyed playing with the paper and bows though and she also seemed to enjoy tipping a bowl of fruit.

MY DAD (Dec. 14, 1946--Dec. 14, 2005)
One of my worst fears came true. One morning the phone rang and I answered it. "Barry..." my mom said in a voice that I could hardly understand. "Yes?" I said urgently.
"Your dad... is dead."
"NO!" I cried in a voice that didn't sound like mine, "NO!" and I sobbed uncontrollable.
"I found him in bed... just now, " my Mom managed to say.
"Are you sure?" I asked, but I knew it was true if she was calling me. At that point my mom couldn't continue the conversation she was so broken up and she tried to hand the phone to my uncle (her brother) but he just hung up on me.
Sometime between 5 and 7 am on his 59th birthday my Dad, who had already gotten up and made some tea and turned off the alarm, laid back down and died.

Dad had had heart trouble 5 years ago and had a quadruple bypass and nearly died then. But then he made an amazing recovery and a year later his Dr. told him that the x-ray of his heart didn't even look like that same heart from a year before. The last 5 years have been worry free for him. So his passing away was a complete shock. I think it even surprised Dad who had a look of serenity on his face when my mom found him.

There is so much I could write about my Dad: that he was spontaneous, funny, fun, kind, humble, a good Samaritan--but most important of all, he was a Christian. He had a simple faith in Jesus Christ to save him from his sins and he let Jesus lead his life while he lived. The only thing that has given me comfort during this time is to know what the Bible says about death and it's antidote. And I know that my dad is alive and with Jesus now and one day I will join him.

DIET
With my father's death, I have once again realized that I should eat healthier so I can avoid things I am probably predisposed to like heart disease and diabetes. However, I pigged out on chocolate over Christmas which is something I had given up. Well, I guess the New Year is a good time to get back on a diet. Now where did I put that bag of chocolate? What? you're still here? I am going to give this bag away...