Facebook has a nice feature that shows a memory from the same day any number of years ago. It’s up to each user to share it or not.
Today, my mom shared a photo from 13 years ago that took me quite by surprise and caught me completely off-guard.
This sweet picture is of my dad and my aunt, Mia, as she was leaving from her first visit with my folks. I don’t remember seeing this photo before, and seeing my dad before he was sick brought me to tears and shifted my whole day.
He’s smiling even though he’s not showing teeth, but you can see he’s happy in his eyes. I miss this man so much. I hope he knew even back then that I loved him.
It may seem silly that a photograph could twist me right into a state of melancholy, but it sure as shit did. The rest of the day, and even now, I just feel bummed out. Everything will right itself, as much as it can, soon because human beings are incredibly resilient.
I remember that day very well, I remember the shirt too. I miss him.