I'm so sorry anon. There's that saying "at first slowly, then all at once" - and such was the case with my father. Our lives took different paths after he remarried and moved to the the little place he always wanted in Florida by the beach. Unfortunately he would only get to enjoy a few years like that, and left this world at age 65 as cancer viciously ravaged his aging body. One of his last actions in the hospital was to have a violent temper tantrum and break the television set demanding more drugs. A suppose a little dark comic relief, he was always a stubborn tough old bastard and I loved him for that.
Walking by the water on the quiet day always reminds me of my father. Some of my favorite memories together was us going out on his old 17ft fishing boat, early cool mornings with the salty sea air and the smell/sound of a old outboard motor puttering away. I remember whenever we were out on the water he'd always stop whatever we were doing to stand there and watch the sunset, silently. We loved seeing various the marine life as well - I remember we'd go to an area where porpoises would congregate and they would come up to the boat in a friendly, curious manner. I think about him and my late grandfather all the time. Even after years I still struggle with the loss, but those sacred memories are now even more perfect and serene in my mind, and they keep me going. I truly feel for those that have never known a father's love. It is so important.
>>7851225Beautiful words, anon.
