Thursday, August 16, 2012

He is gone from my sight.

Thank you to everyone who commented on my last post...my tribute to my Dad as a runner. It means a lot.

I got a call yesterday morning at work that my Dad was not doing well.

I scrambled around packing, securing child care, finishing up at work as best I could through a teary haze and started the long drive to my hometown.

When I got there I laid my head on his chest to hear that runner's heart again. I told him how much I loved him and thanked him for everything he did for me.

My Dad took his last breath only minutes after my sister and I got there.

Goodbye sweet Dad. Thank you for everything. I'm so sorry my children will not know their Pumpa.

Thank you for waiting until we could get there to say goodbye.

49 comments:

  1. oh, sweetie. I am so sorry. I have read your posts about your father for a very long time and they have been so moving and touching. Your love for him is so clear as you have watched him through this illness.
    My love and thoughts are with you and your sweet family- and of course your amazing father.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh A, I'm so sorry for your loss. I feel like I kind of knew your dad through your posts about him. He clearly loved his family so much. And your love for him was obvious, especially in your last post. You will have an angel to watch over you as you run.

    I'm glad you were able to get there in time. I will be thinking of your entire family and saying a few prayers for you.

    Hugs.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am so sorry for your loss. What happened to him is so not fair, but I imagine he is running again in a much brighter place.

    I wish you peace and comfort and lovely memories. Please be gentle with yourself and take the time you need to heal. {{hugs}}

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am so sorry for your loss. So very sorry. This must be so hard. Deepest sympathy, my thoughts are with you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm so sorry for your loss. As mentioned above, I imagine he is definitely running in a much brighter place right now. Hugs.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am so sorry for your loss. It sounds like he was a true gift of a father. May his memory always shine brightly for you and may stories about him keep him always in the hearts of his grandchildren.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am so sorry about your dad. I'm thinking of you and sending love.
    Amy x

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm so sorry!!! Your love for you dad has been heart warming to read. I'm sure he's in heaven running around screaming I'm free and looking down on you with such admiration and love. Hugs

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am so so sorry, hon. I am happy that you got to be with him one last time. Runningmama from More Room in My Heart

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am so sorry for your loss. It's so sad and hard to let them go. May your special memories help you through this rough time. My thoughts are with you and your family. Heather

    ReplyDelete
  11. oh no, A.
    sending all the love and peace and strength you need to get through these early days of grief. wrapping you and your family in a giant hug right now. i know your Dad was one of a kind and just about as amazing as they come. thank you for sharing him with us. your stories about him always warmed my heart.
    so much love, friend
    xoxo
    lis

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm so sorry for your loss! Thinking of you and your family and sending much love your way....

    ReplyDelete
  13. run, before you are ready to go for a run. we, readers of your blog, your family, your friends... we are giving you strength from afar to put one foot in front of the other! go! run! break down if you have to! giggle if it is all your body can let out. cry if it is the release you need. our hearts break for you. i have been there with you, a stranger from afar. the whole way. every part of your journey. it is much like my own. i wont stop being there now, from afar. a stranger. love to you and your family. hugs those kids. and let them lift you. and... run... take to time to be alone - to feel what you need to feel, uninhibited. so many hugs an so much love to you, now and always.

    ReplyDelete
  14. i am so sorry to read this...
    your dad has been such a presence in this blog- his health, and your quest to become a mother, have been two roads that you have been straddling equally for some time... sometimes they both brought you to places of such similar grief, but always, always, both roads stemmed from such a source of love inside of you- i can only imagine, thru your own words here, how awful and sorrowful you must feel now.

    i am so glad you got to be with him before he passed away. i am so sorry for the loss your mom has suffered, and your whole family. your two beautiful children will always know their pumpa, thru your words and love for him, pictures, etc... not the same i know, but our families are linked well beyond the few generations that actually get to overlep with eachother.

    thinking of you...

    ReplyDelete
  15. hugs, sweetie, big hugs. your love for your dad was so evident in your writing, i'm sure he felt all of that love when you came to see him that last time. i'd like to think of him now, healthy in body and mind, running, happy again. hugs.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I'm so glad you got to be with him at the end. I was with my mom in that moment 6 years ago and I'm grateful for it. Someone said to me then, and it is the only thing still true for me: it will not hurt less but it will hurt less often. Hugs.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I am so sorry. I will keep all of you in my thoughts. Tracy

    ReplyDelete
  18. So incredibly sorry for your loss. Sending warm thoughts and prayers to you and your family.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I am so sorry and pray he has found peace. Thinking of you and your family.

    ReplyDelete
  20. My heart goes out to you my dear friend. I know his struggle has been a long one, and I pray that his body and soul are now at peace. I'm so thankful you made it there and we're able to say your final goodbye. Get a good long run in. Much love coming your way.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I'm so sorry. I agree that your kids will still know him through you. Wishing you peace.

    ReplyDelete
  22. omg, I read the other one first. Thinking of you and your family. I'm so sorry. :(

    ReplyDelete
  23. I am so sorry to hear this but I'm glad you were able to see him one last time hugs to you and your family.
    Xoxo
    Ocgal.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I'm so sorry for your loss. Sending thoughts and prayers to your family.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I am sending you lots of love and peace.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Words are not enough at a time like this, but I will try. I am so so sorry for your loss. Sending all of my thoughts your way. I'm so glad you were able to get there before he passed.

    Mo

    ReplyDelete
  27. Oh, my dear. I am so sorry.

    I was about to type "there are no words", but it isn't true. There are the perfect words and you have written them over the last few years. Thank you for sharing that love with us.

    xxx,
    L.


    ReplyDelete
  28. I'm so sorry for your loss, MTL. So sorry.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Wishing you memories of your sweet dad that bring you comfort and peace during this very difficult time. --Sky

    ReplyDelete
  30. I am so, so sorry. And glad that you were able to make it there in time to say goodbye. Thinking of you. (((hugs)))

    ReplyDelete
  31. Having lost my mother, my heart hurts for you. I'm glad you were able to be there - it DOES make it a little easier, I think. Sending you hugs.

    ReplyDelete
  32. I am so sorry for your loss!!!

    ReplyDelete
  33. I am so so sorry for your loss.

    ReplyDelete
  34. I'm so sorry for your loss, your memories of him will live on...beautiful post about him and his runner's heart.

    ReplyDelete
  35. I'm so sorry your dad is gone - but I'm glad you got to see him that last time and be there when he passed - such a precious time.

    ReplyDelete
  36. I'm so sorry to read this. The pain of losing a parent is so acute, so surreal. Wishing you peace at this difficult time. You've honored your father in amazing ways, continue the traditions and remember the love. Hugs to you and family.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Oh, A, I'm so very sorry to read this. LIke so many others here, I feel like I knew your father through the way that you wrote about him - the love you two had for each other was so clear. I'm so sorry that you've had to say goodbye. Sending you lots of love.

    ReplyDelete
  38. I'm so sorry to hear this :( Prayers are with you.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Sorry just doesn't suffice, but it's all I can come up with. I'm holding you and your family in tender thought and prayer. And also thinking of your Mom, as she grieves the loss of her partner and best friend. Hugs all around!

    ReplyDelete
  40. I'm so very sorry for your loss. Thinking of you and your family.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Here from LFCA. I am so sorry ... and I have just lost my dad too.

    Love to you and your family. x

    ReplyDelete
  42. I am so very sorry for your loss! You are in my prayers!

    Jules

    ReplyDelete
  43. I'm sorry for the loss of your Dad. I have lost my Dad; it is very very painful, especially when you are close, as you are. Wishing you strength and healing and may the warm memories you have with him get you through. Hugs to you and your family. daisysmom

    ReplyDelete
  44. I'm so sorry about your loss. He sounds like a wonderful person and your tribute to his running, his influence on you and his legacy beautiful. Gracie in Brooklyn

    ReplyDelete
  45. I'm so very sorry for your loss.

    ReplyDelete
  46. A, I'm so so sorry to hear this. I'm thinking of you - wishing you and your family some peace of heart.

    ReplyDelete
  47. MTL...first off my apologies for the late reply in my condolences and being a crappy Blog friend. I am soooooo incredibly sorry MTL for your loss. You have lost so much but the pain of losing your dad must just take the cake. You are in my thoughts.

    ReplyDelete
  48. So sorry. Thinking of you all.

    T

    ReplyDelete
  49. I'm just seeing this post. I am so so sorry. I lost my dad in 2007 and like you, I absolutely adored him, he was my best friend, my confidante, my rock. I know how you are feeling, exactly what you are feeling and there's nothing I can say to make it better. People used to tell me that the pain would get better in time and I wanted to tell you that it does. I still cry when I see his picture or think of him but it does get better. Big hugs to you. xoxo

    ReplyDelete