I HATE Goodbyes!

Why is it that I have always hated to say goodbye.  EVERY kind of goodbye none the less.  When ending a phone conversation, I say "talk to you later".  At the end of a great dinner with friends; hugs and "see you soon".  At the end of a sunny extended family vacation is is always "this was great! Lets do it again soon".  But what about those last goodbyes?

As I write this, I sit at the bedside of the strong, loving, intelligent...yep, just down right great man that I got to call "Daddy". I listen to the the whirls and puffs of the machines that deliver the medicines and oxygen his body so desperately needs. It is a surreal existence.  Caught somewhere between praying for miracles and the realization that life is slowly slipping away.  But miracles do still happen. And we are so desperate for one here, for this man we love so very much.

He is a fighter, that is for sure. He is a veteran, that proudly served his country. A friend that gives without question. A son that loved and cared for his parents gallantly. A brother who adores his little sister. A husband who cherished the love of his life more than any treasure. A father who lived for and loved his children fiercely even in their darkest days. And a grandfather that adored his grandchildren and longed to bring joy into their lives. He has so much to live for and so much more to give...and yet he has already gave us everything.

How does a heart even fathom saying goodbye to a soul like him?  This is why I hate goodbyes...they are too final. I want to tell him how much I love him, how much he means to me, how much he has taught me, how truly honored I am to say he is my daddy. It's just too much. Too many words to say, too many apologies to make, too many stories yet to write, too many tears...far too many tears. 

So let me say to you daddy, I llove you!  Heaven waits to eagerly welcome a man like you. And someday we will see each other again Ina place where goodbyes don't exist.