Well, here we go, the last day of the second year since she passed. I am still standing, she knew I would be, however, there were moments I had my doubts. I think of her daily and everything reminds me of her. I am either remembering our life together or wondering what she would think about what is going on today. It is all very healthy.
What is not healthy is the regret that has crept back in that I did not do enough. Crazy as it sounds out loud, internally I battle with her decline rethinking every decision and wondering if there was more I should have done as if I could have controlled it. I know in my mind that it was cancer that took her so swiftly but in my heart, I keep rethinking the moment that started her decline, and if I could have changed it. I listen to that last voice mail from her knowing that I needed to go to her because she was starting to lose her grip and knew it. I have read those text messages exchanged in those last three weeks between myself and my “village”. They were the ones that kept me going when I questioned my strength and ability to carry-on. Those text messages remind me that there was absolutely nothing I could have done. This is still not enough to resolve it for she is still gone.
Grief is a bitch. I am reminded of the stages but never truly embracing the process when it comes to my grief. What I am going through is not a process it is a state-of-being that may never truly vacate. It has changed me for the worse as I am lost without her even on my best day. I don’t cry anymore because nothing can ever be as bad as losing her. Every time someone else speaks of losing one of their parents I feel envy when they note their parent’s age, internally doing the math to see how many more years they got with their parent than I. Worst is that there are more days of my life than not, that I long to talk to her and in not having her to talk to I simply don’t speak. It is a gag on a life worth sharing but lack of an audience in her makes it feel less valuable.
I have thought for days how I would honor the anniversary of her passing and these sentiments were not part of the original draft I was compiling in my head. I, of course, would think about the love of music we shared, the love of reading, and her laughter. What has come out is raw and real and in that I honor it. She has been gone for two years and it feels like ten. Yes, I know, she is all around me and with me every day, which is ironic coming from someone that struggles with the concept of faith as it scientifically cannot be proven. Her being in the stratosphere will never console the loss I feel without her here on earth.
As I conclude I remind all of you, to embrace what you have here and now. Don’t let a word go unsaid, I didn’t and it is the thing I am most grateful for in losing her nothing was left to be said. Spend the time, say the words, and embrace those that are still here. We are destined for the same fate, it is the timeline that is unpredictable. Will you live to be 20 or 95, no one knows, however, while you are here today make it count. It seems all I have today to offer in positivity as I start what will be the longest 15 hours of any day this year. As the clock ticks towards 10:30p I will do everything in my power to stay busy and avoid thinking about every minute of her last day. I am sound in mind enough to know that this final day will never define the 17,271 days we shared but is it wrong to wish I had just one more?
Life as I owe it to her — L. (gutted)
Originally published at https://alwaysstarting.com on August 31, 2020.