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| Harold Brender - Dad, Hero |
Hi Everyone.
So sorry for my long absence. Despite
being busy and connected in other areas of my life, and maybe because I've yet
to get the hang of any kind of rhythm or content balance here, I've had a
difficult time approaching my blog since my last post.
As it happens, 2016 was a year of
tremendous loss and transition for me and my family. My dad spent February to
May in the hospital where he passed, just a few weeks shy of his 80th birthday.
Admittedly, I have the desire to share details of the story but I'm also at
odds with what is appropriate to the occasion. Maybe I should just say that my dad
fought illness and complications due to illness for the better part of 30
years. With my mom at the helm, it brought us all closer together, and my dad
not only survived but thrived between each crisis. He was heroic. He never
complained. And he was our rock and safe haven always. It's a tough pill to
swallow that he's no longer here and the world surely seems a little less bright.
No doubt, as many of you may recognize
the feeling after losing someone you love, the months after his passing felt
surreal. How can the sun still rise and set every day like nothing happened?
But the world does march on and we're left trying to figure out how the pieces
fit back together, knowing some of the original ones will remain missing.
In retrospect, I do still have some positives
to take away from last year. I tried so many
times to post before now, never managing anything that sounded normal to my ear. They'll be for future posts. In January I wanted
to send you all greetings for the New Year, but I just wasn't ready yet to let
go of the last one. It felt like letting go of my dad all over again.
But the time has come. If you've read
this through, thank you so much for listening. I wish you a beautiful 2017, a
year that's happy, healthy and full of all the things success looks like to
you.
Dad, if you can hear me somehow, I'm
dedicating this year to you. You deserved so much better than you got. Thank
you for teaching me to cherish the little things, and thank you for making me
the luckiest girl on the planet. Honestly. Best dad ever.
Aimée
