Things Left Unsaid

From the age of 18 until 26 or so, when my parents and I weren’t seeing eye-to-eye, one friend’s parents took me under their wings. They opened their house, their kitchen, and their hearts to me and to so many others that I realized I wanted my future home to be as full and as welcoming as theirs was. The father gave me a job and entrusted me more than anyone else ever had, though I don’t know if he realized it. The mother played that pivotal role of mother and friend that so few mothers can play. And then a few years later when I had my first daughter, these wonderful people were the grandparents she knew better than any others. But as the years went on and we fell out of touch, I hoped they remembered me with kindness and I wondered if they realized how much they shaped that part of my life. And now I can never tell the father any of this - he passed away unexpectedly yesterday. My heart breaks for the loss the family is trudging through. The pillar of the family is no longer here to support anyone. I hope they can make their bonds even stronger and be pillars of strength to each other. The father’s love will live on in each of them.