What do you say?

Circa 1979

I leave tomorrow afternoon for Minneapolis. I’ve been in Columbus for a little over two weeks now and its time to get back to work. As I am packing and wrapping things up, I always have a checklist. On that checklist, ” say goodbye to dad”.

Dad’s been sleeping pretty much all day. He had a bite to eat, which has been rare. But he can’t really talk. It’s a whisper when he does and it often isn’t understood. I’m afraid that I’ve already lost that chance to say what I want to say, maybe what I need to say. We had some great conversations, we cried together, we were angry together and we laughed. But is that really all?

How do you say goodbye to someone that you will probably never see again? How do you say all of things that you want him to know, but can’t possibly think of? Will he even understand? At the end of the day, he knows that I love him and I know that he loves me. Maybe those words mean way more then we give them credit for?

Photo taken with: Nikon D700, Tamron 28-300 f/3.6