She hath wings

Just a few short months on and I am now crying, not tears of anticipation, but of farewell. I watched my dear father pass away – that very spiritual moment when his soul left his body and went to be with the Lord, almost 2 weeks ago. This week we will celebrate his life and are fortunate to have a larger number to be there to support us than when his illness first began, thanks to the double vaccination rate being over 80%. I learnt so much in the last weeks of Dad’s life and though there weren’t many days between his homecoming from hospital and when he breathed his last, I will always treasure the precious times I spent with him and the words he spoke personally to me. Writing is something he always encouraged in me and yet it was so hard to even pick up a pen in his final days or shortly afterward. It will be my honour to stand and tell his friends and family and one day, perhaps a broader audience, about the impact of Dad’s life on mine. Like a unexpected gift, the words came to me and flowed together, succinct enough to not require much reworking. I wish, like so many other loved ones of his, that I could have had more time to ask him all the things I wanted to know and to tell him more from my own heart. Yet the important words were spoken. “I love you. I’m proud of you. God has a plan for you…”. I walked into his room as he was unconcious and dying, and told him, “I love you Dad!” and a dreamy half smile, like a baby having a pleasant dream, came upon his face as it was radiant for a second. That was the last response I had from him and I knew he had heard me. Dad had been there for me in so many ways over the years. Now at last, he could be at peace, knowing his wife and children were with him to say farewell.