I was so lucky that my sister was able to spend time with him before he passed, and then with me, afterwards. I am lucky that I got to spend over a year helping to care for my father and he basically got to see the change in me step by step.
I know it made him smile when I complained about trying to run and he would tell me to keep doing it because it was good for me.
I know he was really proud of me and my siblings, his grand kids and how we are living our lives.
I now know that if I am feeling really sad or stressed that going for a walk or a run is a better fix than stuffing my face.
In a while when we are ready, we are going spread his ashes at a place called Duck Reach. We lived there for a while when I was really young and he loved the water and the bush there. He would also get a kick out of knowing that to go visit "him" we have to walk up and down over 100 really steep steps. RIP Papa.
