Markus Randel's Blog

Dear Joseph and Lucia,

Joseph, I remember you as an extremely empathic soul.  You were always very sensitive to other people.  That can be a strength for you to communicate and lift up others.

Lucia, you were always quite compulsive and strong-willed.  These traits will help you succeed when everyone else tells you you can’t.  I can see you in athletics. Your strength is deeper than you know.

I hope you both respect your mother and treat others with respect.  There will come a day when those efforts will reflect on how you yourselves are treated.  The kinder and understanding you are to others only makes the world a better place. When someone is negative, disrespectful, or talks bad about others they are only harming themselves and how other people see them.

So, be good.  Be loving and thoughtful of others.  Try to understand all sides of a story.

Love,

Dad

Dear Joseph and Lucia,

I had a very quiet weekend.  I got to talk briefly with your step-grandmother in Belgium.  I went to the store to buy gifts for two of my nephews.  It was fun remembering all the trips to the toy section at Wal-Mart we would do.  I miss buying toys. Lets me feel like a kid again. The challenge is to get everything packed before we leave next week.

Just a short note for today.

Love,

Dad

Dear Joseph and Lucia,

I’m very happy today is Friday.  After work today, I’ll swing by the room and pick up my stuff and make the drive back to Richardson.  I miss being home during the week.  When Michèle tells me about what our dog has gotten up to or how something isn’t working right, I miss not being there to help or fix things.

I shouldn’t try to hide that writing to you this week has been a bit of an emotional roller-coaster.   It’s helpful on one hand but very hard on the other.  I’ve kept my feelings for you both in a box so it wouldn’t hurt and by writing to you, those feelings are present again.

As I alluded to earlier we have a dog… Casey. We rescued her a few years ago when she was still only 6 months old.  She’s finally calming down (a bit) but is very affectionate and loving.  Her favorite thing is to chase squirrels.  All you have to do is say “squirrel” and she immediately is looking in the trees and on the roof.  She’s terrified of water, so when we moved into this house it was a bit hard on her.  The back yard is small and filled with a pool.  She has a little stretch on the side where she can do her “duty”.  But she has become skilled at circling the pool and running through Michèle’s roses and rosemary.  I know you both would love her (everyone does)

Here’s a picture of her not long after we adopted here.

Well, I need to get to work.  I miss you both very much and think of you frequently.

Love,

Dad

Dear Joseph and Lucia,

I would like to share with you today that not every day is a good day. Sometimes it takes a bad day to appreciate the good ones. I put some of my thoughts in another blog a few years ago. Please give it a read if you can.
http://livinglifebetter.wordpress.com

Love,
Dad

Dear Joseph and Lucia,

Wow!!! In just 3 days your letters are getting more than 100 hits.  Sadly, they are all referred by Facebook, so I doubt any of those are you two.  If you do find these, please know that I approach all of this as an opportunity to meet you again.  It’s now official that the two of of you have lived away from me longer than with me.  That makes me sad.  I’ll be patient and answer any questions you might have.  I’ll also happily put you in touch with several people that could help answer questions you might have.

Love,

Dad

Dear Joseph and Lucia,
Its early in the morning and I woke thinking about you two and missing my father. Your Papa Gene was a very patient man. I came across a few photo’s of us way before I met your mother. I was working at KBTX and they were doing a news piece in Caldwell (where I lived). They gave me camera detail because it was my home.
So Mom and Dad were there. Dad was fascinated by the camera and Mom took pictures of us. (the shorts style are a bit dated)

And there is someone else you should know about. She was my best friend from Caldwell. Sherry. She lives near you if you ever want to know about what I was like as a kid, she will likely tell you stories all day long. We keep in touch and she’s watching me do this blog and supports me.

That is a picture of us at our 25 year reunion. Yes, Dad has put on some pounds. Hush

Love,
Dad

Dear Joseph and Lucia,

I just installed new software on my laptop that will make it easier to write to you two when the mood hits.  I might be a bit verbose for the next few days, but I’ve been putting off writing to you because it hurt so much to not have you in my daily life.

I went through a lot since I lost you from my day to day life. Maybe when you find this and ask me, I’ll tell you.  Just know that Michèle was a life-saver in my stormiest hardships. She has shared so many of my tears while I missed and worried about you both.

A wonderful story about my Papa Gene… After he was diagnosed with his brain tumor, his mind started slipping very quickly. I drove to Bryan from Oklahoma CIty every weekend just to be with him.  I’d pick up Michèle on my way through Dallas. One of the weekends he started having trouble walking so I had to walk backwards in front of him to support him when he went to the bathroom.  I’ll be darned, he started dancing with me. I was irritated and reminded him I’m the son that doesn’t dance.  When he finished with the bathroom, Michèle came in and asked if she could dance him back to his bed… and they did.  As we set him back in bed Michèle said it was her honor to dance with such a gentle man.

She loved both my parents very much and stayed by my side as much as possible in their last days. I can’t wait for you to meet her. She is a caring soul that supports me.

Here are a few more pictures of Michèle with her daughters (your new step sisters) Melynda and Rachael.  Even one of them being nut-balls with Michèle’s phone.  She was so surprised next time she turned it on and found that as a background.