DAD

Sometimes the death of someone close to you acts as a proxy for your own mortality. We grow attached to those who are meaningful to us. They become part of your daily existence just as a part of your own body. When that piece of you goes away it immediately feels like a traumatic amputation, or more poetically as if a portion of your own heart or soul has been excised. Although the pain is severe and intense, like other pain in life it will dissipate. What you are left with mirrors that of phantom pain, a remembrance of what you have lost. Although this pain may never fully go away, it is joined by a new growth. Memories of both happy and sad times you have shared. But more importantly is the realization of how that person helped you grow into the person you are now. Everyone who touches our lives has a way of leaving an indelible mark on our very existence to be carried with us always. I am grateful to all those that have passed and those who are still with me continuing to help mold me into a better human being.

My father has contributed to me both through genetics and years of nurturing. I am glad to have your wit and talents live on through me.

-Your loving son.