“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal. Love leaves memories no one can steal.”

I am sorry for being MIA the last few weeks but sometimes life happens. My family recently suffered an unfortunate event. My father-in-law, a great man, passed away after a battle with ALS. While he was sick, we thought we had more time with him then we ended up having. It’s very sad but we’re all trying to find joy in the memories we have with him. He always read my blog and so I wanted to just say a few words about him here.

Frederick Michael Daly was his full name, but I always called him “Mr. Fred” because when I first met him when my now hubby and I were in high school, “Mr. Daly” felt too formal but “Fred” too informal so that’s where I landed. He was the most patriotic person I ever met. He spent time in the Army during Vietnam and always flew an American flag in his yard. He was very thorough in everything he did. He was also very frugal. He would research for hours before making a large purchase. He was very interested in computers and would email us if there were glitches in the new iPhone updates before we did the install. He was an extremely hard worker and worked well past retirement. He believed in taking the time to do things right the first time. He was very efficient and organized. When we would travel, he’d have all of the reservation information printed and stored in a manila envelope. When we were in our senior year in high school, my hubby and I wanted to take a trip by ourselves to the mountains for the weekend but we wanted to take Friday off of school to do so, and we’d have to ask Mr. Fred for permission. I remember being so nervous! I made sure to have all the details squared away with every t crossed and every i dotted so I could present a good argument and answer any questions he might have! He said yes and we skipped school on Friday for our trip. 😉 He called me darlin’ and would always say “it’s a beautiful thing.” I can only recall seeing him drink a few times, and it was Bailey’s on the rocks…except that one time he and I shared a bottle of red wine. He was a selfless man that did everything for his family and raised amazing children. I’m so honored to be a Daly and to be his daughter-in-law.

RIP Mr. Fred.  You will be sorely missed.

Thank you for reading and for your understanding.