Few of us ever contemplate the preciousness of human life… Still fewer consider the fleeting nature of that precious life.

Michael Martin Parker was born on April 20, 1955 and died December 11, 2009. He passed away after a two year battle with melanoma cancer. He often use to tell me that the more he thought he knew the answers, the more questions he found to ask. He was my dad, and my friend. It has been just over a year since he died, and I have a hard time knowing what to say about a man that I barely believe is gone. He was real and honest and the older I get, the more I appreciate his simplicity.

There are no fairy tales when it comes to death, just the truth that things come and they pass. He also use to tell me the only thing that stays the same is that everything changes. I don’t think dying is easy, but I do think it is something we can get better acquainted with by living. ~via Paige Parker

Just before passing away, he sent me this email:

“The night slips by as my cigarette illuminates the scuffed wooden floor of the porch.
As I sit on the old swing I relive the past with all it’s pains and pleasures.
The sound of the night surrounds me with it’s quiet peacefulness.
I wish I could capture this peace and call upon it when ever and where ever I needed it.
Here nothing matters but the moment.
There are no deadlines to be met, no appointments to be kept.
The solitude is welcome.
The quiet relished.
It is a simple place but difficult to get all the components just right.
The wind, the rain gently falling on the tin, the sounds, me and my attitude.
God is here. She listens with a quiet comforting demeanor. No great revelations.
Just comfort, acceptance and love.”

—

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