Today marks the 40th Anniversary of my Dad, Converse Crowell's passing in 1983. Tomorrow, would have been my father's 85th and my sister, Laura Crowell's 60th shared birthday. Laura died a year and a half before him in 1981. After both of their deaths, I remember having the actual physical feeling of having had pieces ripped from my heart, it hurt so much. A lot of things have happened in my life in the 40 years since then. No matter what though, I have never stopped missing them.
I'm so grateful for the many blessings I have received since those heartbreaking years in my early 20s. Marrying my husband, Jeff and the birth of our sons Jeff, Mark and Joe have filled my life with the family I yearned for after losing my Dad and sister. Our son, Jeff married our lovely daughter-in-law, Samantha and our son Mark married our wonderful daughter-in-law, Jessica and now we have three adorable granddaughters, Eleanor, Olivia and Evelyn. The love I feel for all of them heals my heart.
The memory of my dad and my sister will never end, but the pain has softened over time. I wish I could go back to that girl in her 20s and let her know that one day, her life would be filled with an abundance of family and love and that it would all be okay. Coincidentally, 1983 was the year I began my lifelong love of Family History. Maybe not so coincidentally.
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