I recently lost my dad to cancer.

Writing that sentence is very hard.

My dad has always been there for me.

I can’t tell you how many times, he got woken up when I was scared when I was little. He never told me to go back to bed. He would come upstairs with a blanket and a pillow and sleep on the floor until I was asleep. If he tried to leave before I was asleep, I would sit up in bed and just stare at him until he laid back down.

I would also call him when there was a spider or an insect in my room. Even when I moved out and I saw a wolf spider, I knew I could call him. He drove 30 minutes to my house just to kill a spider. I knew that it was a big spider, when he said it was big too.

My parent’s love story also inspired me. They grew up a block from each other and never went to the same schools. When I was growing up, we could go to both of my grandparent’s houses after church and for the holidays. They lived a block away from each other.

They met when it was in God’s timing.

I know that my dad is in heaven. He has already asked his mom for food. He has asked my other grandmother for her sweet potato pie. He has also asked my Rev. Dr. Aunt Charlotte for her million dollar pie. I know that he is eating good.

While I am sad that he can’t be physically here, I know that he is still looking out for his family.

For Father’s Day, my mom and I went to his gravesite. It was tough. This was the first Father’s Day without my dad.

I comfort myself in knowing that he is in heaven. He can laugh. He doesn’t have to worry about anything. He isn’t in any pain. He is with all his other family members that are in heaven. It was hard seeing someone that I love, slowly losing physical strength.

The thing that I love about my dad, is that he prepared for his passing, even before he got sick. He had his will in place. He made a list of all the things that needed to be done upon his passing. All the numbers to call. He had almost everything paid for. My mom and I just had to follow his paperwork instructions. Also, my Uncle Kenny did the same things for his family. That made it a little bit easier. I remember, my dad would randomly ask me, if I knew where all the paperwork was.

While I will miss him, I know that I will see him again. I can’t wait to hear him sing his song that he made for me again.

The last thing that he said to me was that he loved me. I will always remember that.

I love you, Dad! From your little monster.