Friday evening, I drove to Hillsborough River State Park to begin my yoga adventure (more here). As I drove, it occurred to me that it was May 18. It was that day, 7 years before, that Dad died.
Over the Rhine’s “Cruel and Pretty” triggered the memory. The beginning lyrics of the song go:
“He woke and knew that he was dying
He spoke and found that he was flying…”
Once upon a time, those lyrics would have me sobbing. You see, my dad may have gone out that way after a long battle with cancer. The morning of his death, as he was dying, I dreamed of him in a bright, white room surrounded by people with white masks. (I wrote about the dream along with other thoughts a few years back.)
When that song triggered the memory of his passing, I was surprised it took me so long to remember. It was nearly 6 p.m. I hadn’t thought about it all day long.
Granted it’s been seven years since he passed. But it doesn’t feel that long.
Yet so much has happened since he passed. I’m so much more different now.
Miss you, Dad.
See you on the back streets of heaven.