The Top Three Current Memories

Ever since he passed away, there are three images that have continually run through my head which I remember about him.  These three are frequenting my mind less and less, which I think is what prompted my worry that I would forget about him.

The first thing that runs through my mind is his hair.  The hair on his arms as well as the hair on his head.  My dad had very hairy arms.  I used to think I got my hairy arms from the Italian genes in me, but now I'm pretty sure it was from my dad.  I remember holding his hand and just looking at how hairy his arms were.  What an odd thing to remember, right?  As weird as it is, I miss those hairy arms.  They gave great hugs.  Strong hugs.  Comforting hugs.

The hair on his head was always oily, despite the fact that he showered daily.  I think it may have been a side effect of the anti-seizure meds, but I'm not certain.  Maybe he just was prone to oily hair.  I remember feeling bad for him that he had to deal with that.  Course even with oily hair, he was still very handsome.  I remember on my wedding day the fuss to try and get his hair to lay right.  It still ended up a little scattered, but the pictures turned out wonderfully.

The next image that runs through my mind is how my dad used to wipe the sides of his mouth with his hand.  He often had dry mouth, again a side effect from medicine I'm assuming, and would wipe the little white stuff off that sometimes builds in the corners of the lips.  He would do this by cupping his hand over his chin and lips and wiping down with his thumb and index finger as he opened his mouth at the same time.  I really don't know how to describe it accurately, but it's in my mind and I don't want to forget because it is part of how I remember him so I'm adding it to this post.  More for me than for my kids' memories.

The third memory is not so much an image, but a sound and image together.  It also is mixed in combination with the memory just listed above.  And that is his laughter.  His one of a kind laugh.  I wish I could hear it again, but somehow I know that if I were to hear it again I would know for certain who it belonged to.  Sometimes his laugh was accompanied by the wiping of his mouth after he told a funny story.  The mouth swipe and laughter combined with it became part of the storytelling.  

So those are the top three memories that I'm afraid are starting to fade.  I will keep running them through my head in hopes of keeping them with me.  They are little nuances of his that I don't ever want to forget.  Odd little memories perhaps, but incredibly important to me still.