“he wouldn’t come back if he could” this was something my grandpa told me, and it’s something that brings me peace. knowing my dads away from any pain and suffering he faced here is comforting. selfishly, I want him with me. but like grandpa said, even though he wouldn’t have wanted to leave this soon, he wouldn’t choose this life over the renewed one in heaven this isn’t something I’ve completely processed, and I’m not sure if I ever really will. one thing about dad was that he was at every one of my races. when I ran in high school, I learned to tune out a lot of what was said, because usually it just made me start thinking about how I should be going faster and moving forward in placement. but when it came to dad, all he would say was “push through it maddi, you got this. push through the pain” and that was some of the only commentary I appreciated while I was running. it didn’t stress me out, it didn’t make me feel like I wasn’t doing enough. it was a calm encouragement to do my best. and he was always proud of that no matter how it turned out and in this race that is life, I remember what he said, to push through and one thing I know now is that I’m not pushing alone. I’ve truly been blessed with the community I have both at school and at home. if I haven’t gotten back to you yet, thank you thank you thank you. I hope to one day show other people the same constant encouragement and support dad showed me. what a day I have to look forward to when I see him again. jesus is my only hope, he’s the only way people say there aren’t words. but honestly, there aren’t enough. I’ll miss you every single day until I see you again. I love you so, so much. go rest high on that mountain dad “go rest high on that mountain ‘cause son your work on earth is done go to heaven a shoutin’ love for the father and the son”