On this day last year, we celebrated my father-in-law’s 60th birthday. He came down from PA to stay with us for a month. We enjoyed a simple dinner at home, baked a box cake, and sang happy birthday.

We had no idea that a mere 8 months later we would say goodbye to him.

It is so surreal to think back on that time in the hospital. It feels like an eternity ago. Little did we know that two weeks later, COVID would hit the east coast. Two weeks later, and we would have been unable to travel to see him. Two weeks later, and no one would have been allowed in the hospital with him. Two weeks later, and there would have been no funeral. No celebration of life at the pub. No goodbye.

I had a dear family member who had lost her own father suggested to me that on John’s birthday we remember him through things he loved. We celebrate him! So today, we are celebrating John’s life. We bought a new bird feeder (he was an avid bird lover), we are talking about “Poppy John” with the kids, and we are going to McDonald’s for dinner ????????

Today, amidst the hardest thing I have ever seen my husband go through, I am thankful for the Lord’s gracious timing in our lives. From John spending his last summer with us, to that two weeks that made all the difference in seeing him.

Happy birthday, Poppy John. Looking up at the cardinals and thinking of you ❤️