I mentioned in a prior entry that I was hoping to find a copy of Greg's words from his daughter's funeral. I was awed at their power and simplicity as well as his ability to find some humor and joy as well.

Anyway, I found them, and now I want to share them with you:


:While there are some questions that Lisa and I will never have answered, there are some questions that we have have answered...

We wondered what color Amelia’s eyes were going to end-up being – well, they were a bright, shiny, beautiful blue.

We wondered what color her hair was going to end-up being – well, it ended-up being light brown or dark honey blonde. It seemed there was maybe some red in there too. We could never decide, but whatever the color, that’s the color it was.

We wondered how tall she would grow – she was about 24 or 25 inches long.

We wondered whether she would grow into her ears – she didn’t, and it was probably her cutest feature.

We wondered what her first words would be – well, they were something like aarrgooorrga and hmm-hmm, hmmm-hmm, hmmm-hmm.

We knew this because we found out she liked to talk – just like her mother.

We wondered whether she would be a serious child or whimsical and funny – well, she was the funniest kid we knew.

We discovered that she was bored easily.

We discovered that she was just as stubborn as Lisa and I – she always had to be held standing up and usually walking around. It was plain that she would use her furrowed brow (her “Beetle Brow” as her mother and Grampy called it) a lot to express herself.

A lot of other questions then, are just details. . .

We might not know what her favorite color was, but she would have had one. And we would have gotten her all kinds of cute clothes and painted her room in that color.

We might not know what her favorite kind of cookie was going to be, but she would have had one. And I would have gotten into trouble by her mother for giving her too many of them.

Was she ever going to fall in love and get married? Of course she was. Whether with a boy or another girl, whether she was 18 or 45. He or she was going to be good for her and treat her right cuz I was going to make damn well sure of that.

Was she going to have lots and lots of good friends or was she going to have a few really, really good friends? Whichever, we know that they would be wonderful people.

Was she going to be Liberal or Conservative? Let me restate that. . . was she going to be crazy-nuts Liberal or just a little Liberal? Regardless, we know she would have had deep compassion for others and a true respect for all living things.

Which college was she going to attend? Or was she going to go to college at all? Well, probably. In any case, she would have liked to learn and read.

The most important details and the things we know for certain are these. . .

Amelia was my sunshine.

Amelia was the most incredibly beautiful thing Lisa and I had ever seen.

We love Amelia more than we ever thought we could love.

She was ours.

We were and still are a family. Forever.