When I saw this week’s writing challenge from The Daily Post, I planned to write a fun story about the characters in the photo prompt. But then I thought about the wider theme I interpreted in the picture: saying farewell.
The people in the photo could be greeting each other, I suppose, but to me it looks like they are saying goodbye. So, instead of the fiction I intended to write, this real-life story about a difficult departure spilled out onto the page. I don’t often blog about my life and this is the most personal post I have written so far.
It was a rainy morning a few days before Christmas Day, the roads slick with water, when I drove to the hospital to say goodbye to my mother.
The phone call had come late at night. The life-saving surgery would most likely go ahead the next morning. I went to bed at midnight, wondering how on earth I was going to sleep but managing to get a few hours of rest before my alarm buzzed at 4 am.
Driving to the hospital was surreal. I put the radio on – I always drive with the radio on – but on that morning, I wasn’t listening. I fiddled with the dial, tuning it in to the news. The calm tones of the newsreader, the swish of my windscreen wipers and the lights of passing cars all melted into an unreal blur as I focused on getting to the hospital in time to say goodbye.
Hospital corridors are lonely places at night and in the early hours of the morning, when no one is around and the air is silent. I walked through the white hallways and when I arrived at the hospital department where my mother was a patient, there was a scurry of activity. It was 5.30 in the morning and the lights were dimmed, allowing the other patients to sleep. But it felt, in a strange way, like Christmas morning. The same sense of excitement and anticipation was there, only unlike Christmas, tainted with anxiety. The nurses who had become familiar faces over the past two months were busy prepping my mother for surgery, pulling on the stockings to prevent thrombosis and helping her into a hospital gown.
When the porter came to get her, I walked down to the operating theatre with them. I wanted the porter to walk more slowly, to delay the inevitable moment when I would have to say goodbye, drive back and wait for the clock to tick away the hours. But it was only a short walk to the theatre, in the elevator, then down the white corridors as I tried to control myself while my throat tightened and my heart rate increased with anxiety.
I was painfully aware of the risks of the surgery she was about to undergo. I knew it was one of the biggest operations that surgeons can do. I knew the medical terminology and the statistics the doctors used. I also knew I was inevitably going to get choked up when the time came to say goodbye. Absurdly, a line from a popular book I recently read floated through my head and I latched on to it, attempting to think about something else to stop myself from thinking about the outcome I didn’t want to think about.
The words I was going to say got tied up in knots in my head. Sometimes words are inadequate. What do you say to someone you love who is about to be taken into theatre for major surgery? What do you say? “Don’t worry”, “It will be fine”, “Everything works out for the best”? All those phrases we use to reassure ourselves sometimes even when we know it won’t be fine. In the end there is nothing you can say but “I love you”.
Grace thank you for sharing this with us. I too remember a time of saying goodbye this to my husband of 41 years. Words are inadequate but your mother knew you loved her. I trust that she came out of the operation and lived for many more years.
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Hi Judith, thanks for stopping by and for your comment.
The operation was successful – it took place on December 20 last year and my mother was discharged the day after New Year’s Day this year. She is recovering well. 🙂
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Glad to hear of your mom’s recovery. Your story was good, not pretentious and overdone but it appeared honest. I like how you left us to think… to want more., but after all it was about the goodbye. Good story telling.
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Hi, thanks for commenting. It’s always great to get feedback. 🙂
I thought about adding more detail to the end when I was writing it but it seemed to come to a natural conclusion there.
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Beautifully written. I hope this helps others making similar visits. Pleased to hear the surgery was a success.
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Thanks for commenting. I am honored that this post has moved so many people. 🙂
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#CoolBlogPost @DrAnthony
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Thank you!
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A moving and easy-to-empathise-with post. Strange that the photo brought back that memory for you.
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Thank you. 🙂
Well, I originally planned to write a fictional story involving Italy, because the photo reminds me of Italy, and a couple. But I was reading down The Daily Post writing challenge and they suggested that the photo could represent a theme, e.g. happy reunions or a difficult departure. The words, “difficult departure”, struck home with me and so I wrote this.
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My last words to my mom before I left for the three hour trip home (where I would spend a sleepless night of waking up screaming every ten minutes) was “See ya tomorrow, Mom, after my work is done.’ She understood… It was a phrase we often used…It meant, I’ll see you in heaven when my work here is through. I could tell by the look on her face that she understood that I understood she wouldn’t be there when I came back and that it was okay to go home. ahhh, hell, those damn tears….
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Your story is very moving and I’m sorry for your loss.
Thanks for stopping by.
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This was very lovely and touching. Thank you for sharing it with us. 🙂
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I appreciate the feedback. Thank you for leaving a comment. 🙂
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This piece evokes a lot of emotion. True and honest. Great work!
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Thank you so much for the compliment on my writing! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
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Pingback: Freshly Riffed 19: Banana Cream Pie, Wanted Dead Or Alive « A VERY STRANGE PLACE
LOL! 🙂
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Beautiful story! I’m glad all worked well, and that you know the true value of saying “I love you”. Thank you for sharing : )
cambriacorner.wordpress.com
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Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
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There are few moments more difficult and frightening than saying goodbye at the OR doors. Glad your mother is doing well.
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Absolutely! I think it’s the most difficult and emotionally exhausting thing I’ve had to do in my life so far.
Thanks for commenting and have a great weekend!
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Dear Grace: I knew the feeling well. Unfortunately, my fear came through. I remembered those awful moments when I was told by my father’s Doctor. He was gone. My body all shook up; uncontrollable, violently like a lifeless leave in a strong wind. We all know it, from the moment we were able to realize. Our circle of life has the beginning and the end. We celebrate both of the occasions, the joy and sadness, ironically, through tears . The strength of deliberations offers the same emotional effect, the same sensational feeling that exuberant our minds, or the cold chill running wild in our thoughts. I guessed love have made me selfish thus I want that forever lasting for my parents. As a mom, I keep this thought in mind. I live as best as I can to full fill obligations of a mom and to procrastinate the emotional down turn caused by the inevitable loss for my children. Have a pleasant weekend Grace. God bless.
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Hi Nancy, thanks for stopping by. I’m sorry to hear about your father. Life is not always easy but you’re right, it is a circle.
Enjoy your weekend!
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I wanted to press ‘like’.. if there was a ‘really like, big time’ option that’s what I would of clicked. Really beautiful. I look forward to getting to know you.
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I’m honored! Thank you. 🙂
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A very moving goodbue. The piece brought tears in my eyes
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Don’t cry! I am very touched that my writing moved you. Thanks for your comment. 🙂
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Beautiful. Thank you for sharing such a personal experience
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Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I don’t usually write personal posts here but I’m glad I did this one. 🙂
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That was very touching. 🙂 Your story was very inspiring even though it was short. I hope you and your mother are well.
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Thank you. 🙂 Yes, we’re both fine now and I’m starting to put 2012 – the year when it all happened – behind me.
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Good to hear. 🙂
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🙂 It feels like a huge weight has lifted! 2013 is going to be a great year, I can feel it!
Have a wonderful weekend.
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Right you are! 2013 will be a great year for all of us! 😀 Enjoy your weekend as well! 🙂
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when my father was going for his surgery…i was going through the same….and i know what you mean…hope your mum is better…
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Saying goodbye outside an operating theater is difficult! But the surgery was a success. Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment.
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Thank you so much for sharing this very personal and painful memory with us. Goodbyes are always hard, even if just for a short while. I remember when i was to get an operation and my mom was about to say good bye to me at the end of the long corridor, i was more concerned for her than scared of what might happen in that operating room. The way she looked at me just broke my heart, and like you all she said was i love you, and as i said it back i couldnt help but choke up a bit, yet i didnt cry because i wanted to be strong for her, like she was for me. Im also glad your mum’s operation went with out a hitch. 🙂
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I think my mother was probably the same: more concerned for me! She was very calm on that morning.
But everything went fine, thankfully. 🙂
Thanks for your comment.
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Yes sometimes all we can say is “I Love You” and it is enough. It was good to know that the surgery went well and your mother is recovering. I wish her more strength to recuperate and live a wonderful life ahead.
Great post and congratulations on being Freshly Pressed!
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Thanks for your comment and kind words.
I’m delighted by the honor of being Freshly Pressed! 🙂
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Hi Grace, what a touching story. Very well written.
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Hi! Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed my writing. 🙂
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Enjoyed your heartfelt post! . . . Glad to read that your mother came through the surgery fine!
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Thank you. 🙂 I wrote it from my heart with very little editing and I’m glad that it shows.
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Grace, you are right about choosing appropriate words when saying goodbye, possibly for the last time. Some words are so trite; however, you can never lose with “I love you” which I find I never say enough to the people I truly love.
I had a similar situation with my partner. Unfortunately, he had a terrible accident and was in a coma. I did not have time to say “I love you” before he died and then I started thinking that I had not said it to him enough times while he was alive. We should never underestimate these three words.
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Yes, I was so aware that it could have been a very tragic day. 2 out of 10 people don’t get through the surgery my mother had and it was so difficult trying to push that out of my mind.
I’m sorry for the loss of your partner. I think that no matter how much we do, we will always think we should or could have done more. Take care. Thanks for reading.
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Lovely post, Grace. Something with which we can all identify. So glad you still have your mom. Treasure the days that you have with her. I lost mine six years ago and still miss her – but the memories are happy ones.
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I’m glad you enjoyed it. It’s so great to get feedback. 🙂
This whole experience has changed the lives of my mother and me. I was her caregiver during 2012 – the year she was ill. It was a long, painful, sometimes infuriating year but it’s given me a lot of life experience, more than many college students of my age have, and changed my perspective.
I’m sorry to hear about your mom but I’m glad you have happy memories.
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Nice blog. Did you know that in Hebrew there is the same word for hello and goodbye, Shalom. What a concept!
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Wow, that’s interesting! I knew that Shalom means hello in Hebrew but I didn’t know it also means goodbye. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
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You are welcome. http://www.segmation.wordpress.com
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Very poignant. It is amazing how the child becomes the parent, and never more evident in health scares and medical crises.
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Yeah, it felt like a bit like a role-reversal at times. I was my mother’s caregiver during her illness and I am still caring for her at the moment while she recovers. She’s doing really well. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Mind My Mind But… and commented:
One of the most touching things I’ve read in a very long time…
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Thank you for reblogging and for the compliment. I am amazed that it has moved so many people!
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This is one of those moments I always think about. It hasn’t happened to me yet, but I know there will come a time…. I’ve said goodbyes to people before with the assumption I would see them again, only to have those be my last words to them. Very touching, and keep up the writing 😉
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Yes, one of my mother’s friends recently said we must always think about what we say to people when we say goodbye (and not to part on an argument) because we might never see them again.
Thank you for your comment. This type of writing is a departure from the norm for me but it felt good. 🙂
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It’s interesting the picture resulted in you making a personal post. I am very glad you did as I really enjoyed reading it, very moving and I could relate. Happy to read your Mother made a recovery, best wishes to you both.
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Thank you for your lovely comment. I wasn’t planning on a personal post but it just worked out that way. Funny how things like that happen. 🙂
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well written and glad your mom is recovering well..A goodbye or a welcome the emotions are always there though the latter is more joyous !!!
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Absolutely! I much prefer saying hello. I don’t think many people like saying goodbye, unless it’s to someone they dislike, of course. 😀
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agree 🙂
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Such a lovely post, well executed
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Thank you so much for the compliment! 🙂
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This is the kind of writing that moves people. Thank you for sharing this. it kinda sparks a ‘goodbye’ moment inside everybody. Felt real good after reading this.
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Thank you. 🙂 Feedback is very much appreciated. I’m glad you enjoyed my writing.
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Thanks for sharing!
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Thank *you* for commenting! 🙂 It’s always wonderful to get comments.
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You wrote this very well…I’ve read the comments and see I’m not alone in looking back at saying goodbye for the last time. When it’s your Mom, you never forget exactly how it all went…I’m glad in your case, she is recovering and back home now. Praise God–enjoy every moment and keep writing. Also, the pic reminds me of Italy as well, and definitely looks like goodbye, not hello 😉
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Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment.
I am just so delighted that so many people are reading and being moved by my post! It was a real honor to be Freshly Pressed.
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Pingback: Weekly writing challenge: Saying Goodbye | Slnljhy07's Blog
Beautifully Written. It seemed I am watching the sequence of events happening.
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Thank you. 🙂 I was trying to write a very vivid description.
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Pingback: Weekly writing challenge: Saying Goodbye | thepissymom
Beautiful … thank you for sharing.
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Comments make me happy. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
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Loved it!
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Thank you for leaving a comment. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Super Quique and commented:
Great story!!
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Simply, yet beautifully written. I look forward to reading more of your posts. Congrats on being Freshly-Pressed!
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Thank you for the compliment. I wrote it with very little editing. Usually I write a post, set it aside for a while and then go back to edit it. But with this one, it just flowed. If only writing could be that easy all the time!
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Thanks for sharing! The ending was especially moving, I’m glad you went with, “I love you.” I’m sure that meant the most and was the most sincere thing you could have said.
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Thank you. 🙂 I wouldn’t have been able to say anything else anyway! I was getting so choked up even though I was trying not to.
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Perfect ending. Writing from such a personal experience must be hard but this makes you remember what it all comes down to- loving and being loved.
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The memories are painful but writing this piece was surprisingly easy.
Yes, that’s a good thing to remember. 🙂 And this whole experience has made me view my life very differently.
Thanks for your comment.
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Saying goodbye *is* hard. Sometimes I get annoyed by parting lovers at the airport, but then I realize it’s a good thing they are the way they are. Hospital scenes are hard, too… I’ve been a patient in the ICU. Almost didn’t survived. The thought of saying goodbye for forever is the hardest thought of all.
Well-written. Congrats on being “pressed.” 🙂
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Oops. *Almost didn’t survive (not survived)! Sorry.
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No problem! 🙂
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In one of my replies to an earlier comment, I wrote about the importance of saying a ‘good’ goodbye in case it is the last one. It’s a bit of a morbid thing to remember, I suppose, but worth remembering!
Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment. I’m delighted to be Freshly Pressed. 🙂
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I really felt how you went through in the way you’ve written this story. I would recommend for you to write more stories based on your experience. Good job Grace!
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Thank you. I don’t do a lot of personal writing but this felt good to write!
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It’s very hard to challenge yourself as writer, it’s just so hard to find time, but I’m you did. Lovely piece.
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Yep, it was challenging. Well, the idea of writing it was challenging but actually sitting down and writing this was okay. Thank you for leaving a comment. 🙂
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Very welcome I enjoyed your blog ^
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This is so true! Those three words are the most important! You can say everything’s going to be okay but that’s never promised, but the love you have for them is the one thing you know for a fact is true<3
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Absolutely!
Thank you for reading and commenting. 🙂
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This reminds me of the movie Homeward Bound, when Shadow falls into the pit and Chance goes down to save him and Shadow tells him to leave and says, “You’ve learned all you need to know Chance. Now all you have to learn is how to say good bye.” I don’t know if it’s ever something we really ever learn how to do. Or at least do well. Some days I don’t think we are wired to know how to say good bye. This was very nice and I enjoyed reading it (and I mean that in a totally not morbid way).
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Oh, I haven’t seen that movie. It sounds interesting!
I think saying goodbye in such an emotionally tense and difficult situation will always be hard. And there is no right or wrong way. But sometimes simple is best. 🙂
Thanks for reading and leaving a comment. I’m glad you enjoyed my post.
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I suggest you watch this! I must also add that Shadow is a golden retriever and Chance is a pit bull mix….Yes this movie is about talking animals. Their family goes on vacation and they think they have been gone for too long and they go after them. It’s a tear jerker though, so get a box of tissues.
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Aww, that sounds cute! 🙂
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nice post 🙂
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goodbyes kill me 😦
but I’m glad that your mom is recovering fast. it’s nicely written, love it!
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Thank you!
I’m glad too; 2012 was such an awful year!
Glad you enjoyed reading it. 🙂
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Reblogged this on I Check myself, or I Wiggedy Wreck Myself and commented:
Needed this
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Thanks for reblogging!
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Reblogged this on kattyjames.
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Thanks for reblogging!
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you are welcome
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i find it touching. it’s so true about the hospital thing. we do our best to comfort the patient, e.g. you own friend or fam member, even if what we know it’s not always true, like everything’s allright or so. sometimes it feels like lying. and saying i love you to your family could probably the most honest word to say to comfort others…
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Thank you. 🙂
Yes, I just wanted to say a meaningful goodbye because it could have been the last goodbye. Thankfully, it wasn’t! 🙂
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It’s really important to show our love untill when we have this opportunity! I think you could like my post of today…the only problem is that is in italian!I will traduce it!
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Thank you. 🙂
I’d love to read your post. If it was in Spanish it would be okay as I speak Spanish, but I only know a few words of Italian. It is a beautiful language. 🙂
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Grace, you’ve touched my heart. It does all boil down to love, doesn’t it? But I find that, in unimaginably wrenching, almost surreal moments such as those, sometimes the right thing to say is.. nothing at all. The eyes too speak volumes. Glad to know your mom pulled through and is recovering. Wishing you healthy years ahead. Lovely writing 😉
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Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed my post.
There is a beautifully written poem called “Spared” by an author called Wendy Cope, which she wrote about the tragedy of 9/11:
“For now, how well I understand
That love is all, is all there is”
Those lines from the end of the poem sum it all up. Thank you for reading. 🙂
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This story sucked me in as I recently had to say goodbye to someone I loved as well. Very powerfully written. I too loved the fact that you left us wanting to know more…but so happy that it turned out well.
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Thank you for reading. I’m sorry about your loved one. Goodbyes are tough.
I wasn’t really thinking about writing techniques when I wrote this but I guess that suspense is always a good one to keep readers on their toes, whether it is fiction or non-fiction!
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Really loving these Dp challenge series on FP, especially because they bring everyone great posts such as these. Beautiful 😀
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Thank you so much! 🙂
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You’re so welcome! thank you for sharing your writing with us 😀
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Thank you for the message that stands out… Never, never, ever, pass up the opportunity to kiss the one you Love.
I was scanning very old slides to digital this weekend. Taking the time to put long forgotten ones up on the flatscreen, I would pause and say, ” how long has it been since “they” have been gone?” In the travels to far away places, where maybe a card is sent once a year to say Hi, the knowledge of pending sad news upon a future visit that a loss occured, with third hand news, “oh, they are gone”, is frightening. The fondest memories from my old slides brought a joy to the day.
http://sunkist2.wordpress.com ~ Ron
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Thank you for reading and leaving a comment. 🙂
When I wrote this post I didn’t intend it to have a message but if there is one, it is actually about saying goodbyes to loved ones.
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Very well written, no pretence, just honesty x
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Thanks for your comment. 🙂 You’re right, it is just honesty. That’s what happened, plain and simple.
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Thanks for sharing. This post is wonderful. I couldn’t agree more with you that instead of thinking for the worst, we have to think for the positive outcome. Saying “I love you” to your mom made her recovered!
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The power of positive thinking is certainly better than being pessimistic. It was hard to think positive all the time but we had no other option.
Thanks for stopping by!
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Wonderful post!
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Thank you! 🙂 Sorry for the delay in approving your comment. I found it in my spam folder just now…no idea why it was there.
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Glad to hear you mother’s surgery went well and she is recovering! Thank you for sharing as I think we can all take away a little something from your post. Congrats on FP too!
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Thanks for your comment and the congratulations. 😀 I’m flattered that my post has moved so many people.
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You’re most welcome. The power of positive thinking really works 😉
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Hi Grace, i am relatively new to wordpress and was delighted when i stumbled across your page. Beautiful writing and from reading the comments i hear you Mum recovered well which is good news. I hope you dont mind a new follower and someone who has just started on the road of showing others their writing! xx
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Hi, thanks for dropping by! I’m glad you enjoyed my post and new followers are always welcome. 🙂 Good luck with your writing. Have a great day!
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Dear Grace,
This is a beautifully written post.
Thank you for sharing it.
I am sure that it will bring strength to many in similar situations – whatever the outcome.
Best wishes to you and your mother –
Emma.
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Hi Emma, thanks for your lovely comment. 🙂
I am overwhelmed by the moving comments people have left on this post. If sharing my personal experience gives support to anyone going through something similar, I would be very touched.
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Pingback: January, we had fun | Cultural Life
you have really nice and interesting blog! 🙂
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Thank you. 🙂
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Simple yet captivating !!
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Thanks. 🙂
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very true.. nothing beats saying the words, “i love you”.
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I was quite nervous about what to say when the time came to say goodbye at the doors of the operating suite. I knew that the story might not have a happy ending and I wanted to say something meaningful. But no words mean more than “I love you” when it is said sincerely.
Thanks for reading and commenting. 🙂
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Hi Grace,
Your post pulled me in with its topic of saying goodbye, as I was talking about this very thing with a friend not too long ago.
He said something that stuck with me: “The reality is, all good things come to an end, but almost paradoxically there is this undeniably unique concentration of love that comes with goodbyes.”
All too often, we focus on all the negativity and sadness associated with goodbyes, when we should really be focusing on all of the love that is tied into them. Right?
I just wanted to share that quote with you and also let you know I really enjoyed your piece. Very simply but beautifully put.
Kara
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Thank you for reading!
Your friend sounds very wise. Thanks for sharing his words. Yes, “love is all, is all there is” (a line from Wendy Cope’s poem, Spared, which she wrote about 9/11) and it’s good to focus on that with goodbyes. 🙂
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This was so heart-felt and well written that it brought tears to my eyes
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As a writer, it is very flattering when people are moved by your writing! I’m glad you enjoyed my post. Thank you for leaving a comment.
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Touching, brought back memories. Thanks for writing and sharing this.
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Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment. 🙂
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Reblogged this on ktru3xo.
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Thank you.
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Please keep writing your amazing!
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Thank you very much for the compliment! And please keep reading. 😉
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I was very moved. Beautiful story! Thank you.
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Thank you for reading and commenting. 🙂
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Oh god, this made my eyes water. I am terrified of my parents dying. At some point I became aware of their mortality and it has been a worry ever since. I know it is going to happen some time, I just hope it won’t happen for a long, long time. I’m not always the best daughter I could be, I suppose, but having lost my grandmother a day ago, I became aware of their mortality even more. I’m really going to try to love them the hardest I can. I want to make sure that they feel it.
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Sadly, it is inevitable that the majority of us will go through the grief of the loss of a parent/parents. It is part of the natural rhythm of life. That doesn’t make it any easier though! But try not to worry too much about losing your parents and, instead, value the time you have with them without being anxious about the future. I understand where you’re coming from because I used to get very anxious about something happening to my mother.
I’m really sorry to hear about your grandmother.
“I want to make sure that they feel it” – Sometimes a simple “I love you” is all that is needed.
Thank you for reading and leaving a comment. Take care!
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This looks like Lisbon(Alfama or castleo and reminds me of My husband and My Love story! Maybe I will partake in this weeks challenge.
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Hope you have fun if you decide to take part in the challenge! I love them. They do what they say they will: challenge your writing. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Natalie Elizabeth Beech.
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Thanks for reblogging!
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Hi! you were such a darling by saying ‘i love you’ to a person having a surgery. you may never know how much it could mean to that person but definitely it would help someone to be stronger. 🙂
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Thank you for leaving a comment. 🙂
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Nice transition from a “strangers” picture to a very personal experience.
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Thanks. 🙂 I didn’t expect to write anything so personal when I first saw the photo. But, that’s what happened.
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Awesome
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Thanks! 😀
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Thank you for sharing. I can relate very well, you just don’t know how much…
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Thank you for reading. Take care!
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This is just beautiful! I know what the walk is like and it is hard for everyone who makes that journey. I am another one who always listens to music in the car but when I am in stressful situations like that it is either turned down really low or its just turned off. Thanks so much for sharing, I really enjoyed it 🙂
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Thank you. 🙂
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Reblogged this on cwalker17.
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Thanks for reblogging!
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I couldn’t say ‘Goodbye’ on the day my dad passed away 8 years ago (I lives separately from my parents for Study issue).
but, I did say: “Thank you & I Love you” in front of his ‘death body’ soon when I arrived home a day after. 🙂
Thanks for Sharing.
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I’m sorry you did not get the chance to say goodbye to your dad.
Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.
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Reblogged this on home inspection and commented:
inspiring…
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Thank you!
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My mother in law had been in hospice for a few weeks. She had terminal cancer. Her days were a roller-coaster ride of good ones and bad. On one of the good days, my wife and I thought, she wanted us to take her outside into the gazebo. She even left her oxygen back in the room — we were ecstatic.
Her reason to go outside was not apparent until we got to the gazebo and had maneuvered her wheelchair to the view she wanted. That’s when she took out a cigarette and a lighter from under her gown and lit up — we were appalled.
But, then, the unusual happened: she snuffed out the cigarette after only one drag on it. She said, “Not even that tastes good anymore.” We, all three of us, knew what that meant: she was dead inside of 48 hours after that.
I did, however, get to say my goodbye. I told her I would care for her daughter; that she didn’t have to worry about her. She placed her hands on either side of my face, looked straight at me and said, “I know that.” She and I understood it would be the last time we would see each other in the flesh.
Then she added, “It’s not a good way to go,” meaning the smoking, which she had refused to give up until it no longer tasted good.
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I’m sorry to hear about your mother-in-law’s story.
Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.
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You bet. She died years ago, but your blog made her story relevant today.
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i admire your courage to write and share your experience…very inspirational…..
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Thank you. 🙂
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Beautifully written. none of us would want to be in a situation when we have to say our Goodbyes to our loved ones. very touching. Glad to note that your mother is recovering well.
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It was certainly a difficult situation. But it has a happy ending. 🙂
Thank you for reading and leaving a comment.
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you said the right words in the end. as a doctor i sometimes wonder about the other side of my profession, the side they never teach us about. they never teach us about dealing with compassion. we learn this as we go. you are compassion and i am grateful to have read your blog. thank you
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It’s interesting to hear a doctor’s point of view. I never really thought about that before but I can imagine that it must be difficult to balance the medical/scientific focus with the compassion that is necessary to deal with ill people and their loved ones. My mother had many different experiences with doctors and the medical profession during the time she was ill. Some were fantastic but others were clearly very much lacking in compassion.
Thanks for your comment. 🙂
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Reblogged this on mackeeper review and commented:
worth sharing. hugs!
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Thank you very much! 🙂
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A nice sensitive intimate post.
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Thank you. 🙂
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I think you found just the right words – very personal and caring story.
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Thanks. 🙂
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cul! this is awesome! come check out my blog, its kind of like this, pls like it we need all we can get! thanks, it is a huge help, i love what your doing!
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Thanks for reading.
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did u check it out? if you like it let me know how i can make it better!
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An honest, open, brilliantly written piece about saying goodbye. Having been in your mother’s place just a few weeks ago, it is indeed such a strange moment in time. You expressed it beautifully.
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Thank you for your lovely comment, Angela. I was writing from the heart and I’m glad it shows. Take care.
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Reblogged this on rainteach.
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Thanks for reblogging.
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