Dear Dad,
We celebrated your birthday today.
It wasn’t the party we might have previously envisioned, and the circumstances were nothing we would have desired.
We weren’t at a restaurant of your choice. We weren’t shaking our heads as you pretended to scan the menu as if you’d actually try something different for a change.
We weren’t having a family game night, talking trash to one another as the cards fell across the table. We weren’t teasing lovingly commending your persistence even though you have a knack for coming in last place.
We weren’t even at your house because you’re not there. You’re not there and I know that’s the birthday wish that supersedes them all.
But you are here with us, which is a blessing in itself.
You’re here after that alarming text I received on the afternoon of April 4th.
