Remembering a life
Montreal, QC, July 2009
A little over a year ago, I came to this cemetery with my father to visit the graves of our extended family*. I had been wanting to make this trip with him for years, but for various reasons, most of them having to do with his failing health, it had never worked out until then.
We lost him barely six weeks after this photo was taken, so in retrospect I'm glad we had this day. It's one of the things I hold on to when I find myself drifting in the nebulous vastness of losing a parent. I simply focus on specific days, events or memories and, for a few minutes at least, I feel a small sense of comfort.
Someday I suppose I'll return to this place. And when I do, I'll have to remember where everyone is, and I'll have to retrace our steps alone. And I'll replay this day in my head as if it was yesterday. And I'll wish I could actually go back and be here with him, if only for a moment.
This life thing isn't always easy.
* Previous entries here, here and here.
