The hiatus is over and now with a heavy heart, Blog Post #31 is here. My Dad died suddenly last month. I found myself in a whirlwind of emotions, tasks, and life changing moments that left my writing dormant. My Dad was the biggest fan of this blog and the ‘Published Works’ I’ve produced so far as a freelance writer. He was very proud. I’ll miss sharing my writing with him.

Requesting no service, I know that my Dad would have wanted me to write his obituary. He would have wanted simple and to the point with a touch of humour in as few words as possible. The following link is to the obituary I wrote for my Dad, honoring his life the way he would have wanted.

https://www.albernivalleynews.com/obituaries/harald-mundheim/

Leaving Paradise (the place my Dad called home for nearly 50 years).

Life Lessons

While everyone has or had a father, I am fortunate to have had a Dad. He encouraged and supported me in sports, education, and hobbies. Through my successes, failures, and everything in between, he was a proud father who always wanted the best for me. While I appreciated his love and support in life, it’s only now with his passing that I truly see how much he meant to me and how much I meant to him. His love and support was always there. I’ve never known life without those things until now.

Moving Forward

As I’ve written before, life will kick you in the teeth. Know it. Expect it. Accept it. It’s resilience, fortitude, gratitude, and perseverance that allows us to overcome, become stronger, and thrive. ‘Moving forward’ is the tool and defense mechanism I try to use when confronted with life’s foot to the face. The best defense is a good offense. My Dad would have wanted me to continue to move forward and that is what I intend to do. It’s what he always did.

Words of Wisdom

1. When you lose someone you love; “Don’t be sad it’s over. Be happy it happened.” (although it’s so very ok to be sad it’s over) “Remember the good times. Laugh at the stupid times.” Recall the lessons. Cry. Celebrate their life.

2. Let the past be a guide, a roadmap, a lesson but don’t get stuck there. You can’t change the past. You only have now and moving forward.

3. Look for your spark, your joy, your reason for all you do. If you’re not excited to get up and get out there, stop what you’re doing and do something else. The time we spend alive is not very tall.

My sense of humour definitely comes from my Dad. Sorry, Mom. There is no way I would leave out the ending jokes even though this blog post has been somber and heavy in content. My Dad loved a good joke. He also liked some of my jokes. Enjoy.

After my Dad met my Mom for the first time, they again saw each other at a dance. As my Mom describes it, “He came over and asked me to dance. I guess he thought he could dance. He couldn’t dance. It was more like he took me for a walk around the dance floor….but it was a nice walk.”

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My Swedish jokes come from a joke my Dad told me when I was a kid:

“What do you call a Swede with a war medal?”

“A thief.”

I didn’t get it until I learned a bit of Norway’s World War II history. From that joke, the Swedish jokes I’ve shared on this blog were born. Here’s another one that I told my Dad that he found quite funny.

At the local brewery where I grew up, there is a beer called “The Swedish Gymnast”. Once you’ve finished the beer and are left with an empty glass, you then have “The Swedish Soldier”.

Blog Post #31 is dedicated to my Dad, Harald Mundheim. He raised, supported, encouraged, and loved me with everything he had. I will miss him deeply for the rest of my life.