Till We Meet Again

Two years has passed since the day that I saw my father turn into a set of white bones.
I am not sure if that image would ever leave my memory. Japanese custom typically cremate
the deceased. We cremated him. The rest of the funeral experience was more than I could bear.
I had no desire in seeing the remains of cremated remnants, a scattered set of bones on the
tray that is pulled out of the inferno. But that is a custom in Japan to gather around the remains
out of the crematory and pick out and collect bones to place in an urn...

Two years has passed since the day I saw the smoke that went up to the sky from the chimney at the crematory. I did not know if I should feel relieved or sad. I don't know where he went to be honest with you. Part of me hope and pray that something happened during the last hour
when he struggled for air before he fell to his death.

Two years has passed since I bid him farewell in a room at the funeral home. I chose to sit with him for a while after he was dressed. He looked as though he was just taking a nap in his regular recliner. His face was peaceful and he had no pain. He did not struggle for the air and he lay there still. I held his hand, his cold hand and remembered how it felt.

Human errors and poor judgement can cause such an agony in the lives of people. He certainly suffered due mostly to the lack of skilled providers to rescue him from the impending doom. NO one recognized his condition, no one was trained adequately to respond to him or provide what he needed. By the time they realized that he was not just restless, but he was in a hypoxic state due to the imminent compression of his airway by the large hematoma, it was too late. But life goes on here on earth.

He was a good father, although he was not perfect. That is the way it always is for most of us. We are never perfect as parents to our own children and that is the way it is.... I am grateful for having had a father and I am thankful he was my father. If I am allowed one small wish, I want to make sure that he knows that I loved him very much. May he rest in peace.

Father is a precious existence, no matter what. I hope you keep your father close to your heart today if you still have him with you. I miss mine.

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