What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes part of us.
-Helen Keller
My dad passed away suddenly and without warning three years ago.
Here are some of my reflections:
- Sometimes I still can’t believe he’s gone. At times, I have to remind myself that he’s no longer here, especially when I really want to talk to him about something that’s going on in my life.
- The impact a person has on others is huge, and sometimes not totally seen until after they are gone. This is such a great reminder for all of how many lives we each touch on a given day.
- I see parts of my dad in my own kids, and in myself, and I love that. It’s a reminder that he’s still with us today.
- My husband is fascinated by physics and astronomy, just as my dad was in his lifetime. I love that too, and wish my husband and dad could have one last deep conversation about the universe and the world we live in today.
- Home is different now that he’s gone. My parents moved many times over the years. Home became not so much a place, but the people themselves. Now there is simply an emptiness that’s left behind where he once used to be.
As so many people before me have said, grief doesn’t simply disappear over time, it changes form, but it’s always here with us.