The Dude Man

For days I have been trying to find the words to say and for days no words would come my way. My father was a wordsmith. There is no telling how many times he has sat where I am sitting and written poetry for a obituary. He was a storyteller. He would start to tell you anything and the combination of his words and even how he would speak would wrap you in a spell and enchant you, especially if it was about something he had passion for, even extruters. He had lots of passions work, stamps, conquering the world, film, music, books, baseball, education, those in need but number one was always family. He was a man who loved, a man who loved well. Even if it took decades for his only daughter to win the title of favorite daughter.

Marcus David Carl. My father was a kind man. If we ever brought friends over to our home, he made them feel included and as if they were a new person. (Sorry Jessie for getting the worst new name, Jezebel is kinda tough lol) He wanted to share his passions with others. He coached little league baseball for years and luckily William loved it and played with him for years. Sharing his passion of reading Half Price Books became a fairly routine store for us to visit. Even when he and Uncle Mike owned their online bookstore, I remember fondly dad telling us kids to go to the book warehouse and pick out a book that we could take home. There are so many stories that come to mind with my dad sharing his passions but I am sure lucky and grateful he never tried to share his passion of stamps as much as he shared everything else.

My dad was a hardworker. I am pretty sure in his life he has held about 100 job titles, I may be exaggerating a little bit but to me he has. Most of his life he worked with family, which I always admired. I truly feel blessed in knowing that I was raised with getting to visit my dad and other parts of my family just by going to the scrap yard. The smell of dirt and metal still brings joy to my heart because it reminds me of family, reminds me of love and that's in large part due to my father being my father.

I am beyond blessed that I had a great father. You never had to wonder if he loved you because you could always feel it from, even if he wasn't speaking it at that moment you could feel it. He was a kind, loving soul that I am so blessed to be able to say was my father. He taught me so much in this life, he brought so much joy in this life. He was such a funny man, there were very few moments that were dull around him. His smile could light up a room and often times did.

My dad, my daddy, my father dearest, my popsicle, the dude man, left a lot sooner than I could have ever imagined and it hurts a lot. But God is still good, He is still on His throne, He still loves us and with His wisdom He planned perfect timing for all of us. God made sure David was home, which was huge. God allowed my Dad to just last time I was here, the beginning of the month to see Elton a second time but as my future husband. God allowed it to happen when all the Carl children were going to be in town. It doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, but it does offer some peace in knowing that through some of the darker moments in life my God still loves fiercely.

My emotions are all over the place. Some moments are better than others and some moments are just stupid hard. But God is good, and I am beyond blessed to have been allowed my dad as my father.