October '67. My Dad carrying me in the bassinet with my brothers & sister at our camp. It's hard to believe that it's been 3 years since my Dad died. Sunshine & I had spent two weeks in VT with him & my Mom, knowing it was truly a "good bye" visit. Truth be told, I always thought each visit prior to that was our "good bye" visit as his health wasn't good for years. This time I knew it really was good bye.
The day after we left VT, he went into the hospital. Three days later he died. We'd been home in Georgia for a day & had been out grocery shopping when my Mom called shortly before 2pm to let me know he was gone. I can still see my kitchen as it was on that day. And I remember leaving groceries out on the counter for hours afterward.
No matter how much you prepare for news such as this, you're never truly ready to hear it.
I miss you, Daddy. I miss you every single day. Father's Day is so hard without you. I know we have Hunter to celebrate on that day, but he's my husband, not my Daddy. Your birthday is another hard day to get through. I try to focus on Sunshine & the rest of our family on Christmas but yeah, that's a hard day too. I know you're in a better place where you're not in pain & can think clearly but it still hurts to be without you. I love you & miss you.
It's been almost 20 years, and I still have moments that are acutely grief-stricken. Some days I take comfort in the fact that my husband and his father still grieve for my father as well, still want his opinion and advice... other days (today evidently), it just makes me weep. Easter. Father's Day, 4th of July and Thanksgiving are just plain awful most years.
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