The greatest man I've ever known

The corset of my wedding gown got tighter as my aunt laced it up. I was anxious but excited to see his reaction. This was going to be a special moment for both of us. With approval from my nana and aunt I tiptoed out of the bedroom and stood across the living room from where he was sitting in the rocking chair looking out the window at the beautiful fall day. Nana walked over to him and quietly said that he should stand up for this moment. With his hand on hers he grounded his feet and pushed himself up from the chair. I waited nervously as he was slowly turning around.

My papa is known as "The Vike." Being a descendant of the Norwegian warriors he rightly so is built like a viking...or a corn-fed farm boy that was as strong as an ox and worked hard his whole life. Legends of him being tougher than nails and stronger than a horse preceded him and yet his five grand-children knew him also as a loving man that adored them and wrapped them up in "bear hugs".

Watching him now carefully shuffle around so not to lose his balance, I knew this wasn't the same man I had known five years ago but I loved him just as much. His memory loss had escalated this past year and his interest in life was declining but he remained loving and kind with the added characteristic of a young child. I saw his eyes catch on my dress and his face lit up. "Ooooooooohhhh," he exclaimed, "Aren't you just beautiful!" My heart was filled with warmth at his approval. We walked toward each other and met in the middle of living room. He put his big hands on my shoulders and tears filled his eyes. I knew at that moment he could remember me as a little girl in his lap and now I was about to move across the world and get married. My eyes welled up too and we embraced. We cried on each others' shoulders, tears of love and tears of sadness for lost time and forgotten memories. He pulled back and smiled at me with admiration. Then he asked me for the 28th time that morning when I was getting married and I answered like it was the first, "In just 2 months papa! I wish you could be there."