Dear Dad,

Dear Dad,

I can't believe it has been a year since we said good bye.

Watching you go was the second hardest thing I have ever had to do. The first is having to tell you that Mom was gone.

I miss you every day, but today is especially hard.

I knew you weren't going to be with us forever. I knew how much you missed Mom. I just had hoped we would have more time.

It is whirlwind. We went from thinking you would be coming home the next day, to thinking you still had enough fight to pull through, to having to watch you slip away from us.

Friday you could still hear me from across the room. I will never know why you chose to hear me and ignore the nurses when we first arrived at Hospice.

Saturday I pulled the blanket off your feet and asked if it felt better. You couldn't hear me. I had to walk halfway to you to get a response.

That's when my fears were confirmed: you would be gone before the end of the weekend.

Sunday I found myself staying with you until Dave Marsh arrived to take you to Woodville. I just couldn't leave you alone.

Things have changed so much in the past year.

 There are so many people I wish you could have met. I know, you would have preferred to meet them before the stroke. I know that you were miserable and felt trapped in your own body. It still hurts that there are people in my life that will never get to meet you or see how special you were. You will only ever be stories and pictures to them.

When I was ready to build a family. I wanted you to be part of it. You would have liked Mark and his family. We have a great apartment and we are building a wonderful life together. I wish you were here to be part of it.

I expect great and wonderful things in our future, and it breaks my heart that you will not be there.

Please know I have kept all my promises. We are all okay. We have our good and bad days, but we are hanging in there.

Love,

Jennifer


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