Thank You Dad.

Last week, my dad passed away. Fortunately, there were many members of our family with him. And coincidentally that afternoon, his cousin's daughter had emailed me this photo from my recent talk at her high school in New Hampshire. The photo on the screen is me as a kid doing a jigsaw puzzle with my dad.

There has already been a tornado of thoughts and feelings in my head and not everything has processed. I guess you're never really prepared to lose a parent. But there is one thing that is floating around constantly (and why I'm writing this post on my work website). The person I have become and my work with reuse is a deeply conscious and simultaneously subconscious result of my dad's lifestyle. And while I didn't always recognize them at the time, I'm quite thankful for all of the opportunities that my dad gave me.

My dad loved flea markets and yard sales. I grew up in a house where repair was the norm. Things were regularly brought back from the local dumps. There was always a planned project for something that he set aside.

For a myriad of reasons, my dad unfortunately couldn't finish all of his projects. This certainly gave me the drive for finishing my own and also sharing the importance of reuse with others. I've known that the education component has been a part of my calling, but I realize now, that's also a way that I can honor my dad and his legacy.

With each day that goes by, I'm realizing more and more that we don't need to hold on to the items to hold on to the memories. Items are just reminders and they can be anywhere. It's truly more about the places that we went and the things that we did.

I know this situation is certainly going to influence my work in various ways as time goes on. But for now, I've slowed down and become more present with my family. I sense this moment is another chapter beginning for all of us.

~~~+++~~~