Hi Daddy,

Well, August came and went. Another year without you here. G celebrated his 10th birthday. I remember when he would sit on your lap and play. You would call him ‘Bubba’ to get his attention, only to have him start calling you that. You were his Bubba. The great grandson with his name the same as yours. He misses you but his memories are fading, and he gets quiet when we talk about you. You would love him to pieces; he’s such a good kid.

We should have celebrated your 81st birthday with G on Sanibel and gone to The Bubble Room. We didn’t go down there this year. We haven’t been the last couple of years due to hurricane damage. The two trips down there before that, were hard without you. It’s just not the same. You were the center, and everything fractured after you died. We rarely get all of us together anymore.

You should have been here to hold the great grandbabies as they joined the family. There are seven now. Two girls and five boys. The all-girls spell has been broken. So many times, I’ve wanted to ask you something or call and tell you about … anything and everything. I still do. I just don’t get a response back.

I retired at the end of August, Daddy. I wish I could have shared it with you. The whole family would have went out to celebrate with wonderful food, cake and drinks to toast. None of that happens anymore. It’s just us and Mom. Everyone else has either gone their own way or are too busy. I miss how we used to be. How even when we were kids we would go to Grandma and Grandpa’s, and everyone would be there. It’s all gone now. Somehow without you … everything collapsed.

It’s not fair. The ones filled with hate are still here. They got the medicine that could have saved you, because of who they were. If you had gotten Covid a year later, you’d probably still be here. This is my reality now. Every happy moment has a small shadow over it. Every accomplishment seems not as… important. Life is less without you in it.
I love and miss you.
I always will.
Your daughter,
Dawn