Needless to say, it was an emotional event. However, I don't know if it would have been so emotional had Dad not died 3 months ago today. It would have obviously been very sad to see them go, but we would have said our farewells knowing that it is an amazing opportunity for them and that they will have a wonderful life there. The absence of my Dad was enormous though and I just wished he had been there to raise a glass to his son on his new adventure.
We are lucky; Dave and I have always been close, and I love him enormously. Since we have both had our kids, and living such a long way from each other, we have inevitably drifted apart, and I guess sometimes you think you don't need to make the effort when it is family. I think it is safe to say that recently we haven't been as close as in the past but all that has changed now.
When a member of your family dies, it affects the whole of the family, in very different ways. It may be a partner you have lost, or a brother, sister, son or daughter. In mine and my brother's case, it has been a father. We are therefore the only two people in the world who have lost 'our' Dad and only we know how that feels. This event has formed a stronger connection than we ever had before and one I know that will now never fade, no matter how far away he is or how often I see him.
I do know I am lucky however - I know of families whom the loss has torn apart, and this is so sad. I am part of a very loving, supportive family and for that I will be always grateful. If anything positive has come out of all of this, and you do need to try to find positives in things, then it must be that we have all become even closer.
So it was very hard to say goodbye. I miss my Dad so much, much more than I knew I would, and now I will miss my brother. In a different way, as I know he is on the end of the phone, or the computer, but somehow it still feels as if he is leaving me.
And I don't want anyone else to go.
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