h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It is 26 July, and consequently the 9th anniversary of my Father's death. I'm always fairly down at this time of year, but I'm having an awful lot of problems in RL at the moment and that makes me feel his absence even more keenly. He would have been able to sort out my current problems even if it would have been accompanied by the inevitable lecture about what an idiot I was!!

The trouble is that it wasn't easy for me to appreciate his efforts during his lifetime. Now that I'm a Father myself I understand all too clearly the demands of bringing up your sons. We fight, we argue and at the end of the day refuse to tell each other how much we love each other because it is too girly! Why don't we realise this until its too late. At least I had the chance to tell my Father I loved him before he passed away, but does that make up for all those wasted years? The song 'Living Years' probably speaks to every son who grew up around that time, which is why it is so painful to listen to.

My Father was a great man and a good friend, even if I didn't realise the latter until it was too late. I can only hope that when my own sons are remembering me sometime in the future they can feel that they have appreciated me more during my lifetime than I did with my own father.