Last Christmas

Last year for Christmas we went to Florida to see my dad. At this point we knew the cancer was back but he was about to switch to another type of chemo. At that time the cancer was in his liver, and eventually spread to his lungs.

Of course I had no idea that last Christmas was going to be my dad's last Christmas. I am so thankful that we made the trip there to spend the holidays with him. Wonderful, poignant, and heartbreaking memories to know that was the last time we would spend Christmas with my dad.

This year found us in Florida, again, right before Christmas. A gift to myself was going to see the New England Patriots play the Jacksonville Jaguars. I'm a huge Patriots fan, and with Jacksonville being about 3.5 hrs away (on a good day traveling on 95S!) and with the game being on Dec 23rd, this was something I didn't want to pass up.

I thought about my dad a lot on that quick overnight trip to FL. He lived about 2 hrs from Jacksonville. If he was still here he would have met us in Jacksonville and gone to the game with us ... being a Patriots fan himself...and me getting my love of sports from him.

I know his spirit was with us though as we enjoyed the experience of being at an NFL game....there were times I felt (or maybe it was wishful thinking) as if he were right there in the stands with us cheering on the Patriots.

Arriving at the stadium:
 

Ready for the game to start


Patriots won!