Is there ever a time in which it is finally time to say goodbye to a loved one before they pass away?
You can’t say goodbye ahead of time, of course. You’re not in control of whether they pass away and you obviously don’t want to encourage it. On the other hand, if they pass away and you don’t have the opportunity to say goodbye, you’re incomplete and they drift off possibly never having completed their thoughts or feelings.
I remember when dad passed away, a friend of ours, who had been a friend to dad and mom for many years, found out that dad was in the hospital and in his final battles. He came by and made no bones about the fact that he was there to say goodbye to dad. He did. And he was at peace with that communication. To some extent, so was dad.
For those of us in the moment, coming day-to-day, when is the time to say goodbye before you leave at night not knowing for sure if you’ll get a call at midnight when it’s too late?
So it is for me, and my sister, and my brother-in-law, and my wife. So it is with our kids. And so it is with countless thousands and thousands of children who are out there sandwiched between their parents on the one side and their kids on the other.
Original writing date: May 7, 2007