Friday, August 14, 2015

Come Sail Away

The original reason for us planning our beach vacation was to be together as a family for the year anniversary of my father in law's passing. We all knew it would be a day we would want to be together so we planned to go to the beach that my father in law vacationed on as a kid to spread his ashes. We thought he would love it if a part of him belonged in the ocean that he loved so much as a child. The captain of our boat took us out to a beautiful spot with a bell buoy that chimed in the background as we sent him off. It was perfect.

We cried a lot, but we also laughed as we shared some of our favorite Terry stories. Then we all took a shot of Jack Daniels (my father in law's drink of choice) as we listened to "Come Sail Away" blast through the speakers of our sailboat.

I questioned whether or not to even bring my camera on the boat not knowing if this was something I would feel up to taking pictures of, but these pictures tug at my heart as I look back at them. Each one tells a story of bravery, of courage, of sadness, but also of hope. The family Terry left behind is a strong one and is one filled with so much love. I know he is proud of them all.
We miss you every single day Terry and wish you were still here with us, but I'm so thankful that instead of saying goodbye, that we could say see you later. 

6 comments:

Kayla MKOY said...

Oh my word, I'm choking up over here. Allison what a beautiful tribute to your father in law!!! I'm sure he's smiling right now knowing what you all did for him :)

Amy @ A Desert Girl said...

<3 What an emotional day. It sounds like your father-in-law was honored in a very meaningful way. Anniversaries such as this are hard - I'm glad you were all together.

Ashleigh said...

What an emotional day for every one of you however it seems like he was very honored in a good way! I am happy you all was able to spend it together.

Erin LFF said...

What a beautiful way to honor Terry's life. These pictures took my breath away, you truly told the story of that day. I'm so glad you all were able to be together on a tough day. xo

Brittany said...

I'm so glad you were able to spend such a tough day together. I'm convinced that's the only way to get through moments like that. This is an absolutely beautiful tribute to your father-in-law and I know you'll always treasure these pictures.

Rach said...

Oh honey, this has me in tears. What a good idea to spend the day together at a place that meant so much to him. What a special time with family. Love you!