Listeners (Cassandra, Raquel, others) / Unknown

Since my dad had passed, I had looked on that time with regret for not having prioritized time with him because of my new job.

I felt awful that I wasn't able to say a proper goodbye or make time to spend with him in what I

realize now were his last days.

But as I told the story to the grief group, I remembered that I had had a sense of foreboding actually around my 27th birthday.

I had heard stories of celebrities dying specifically at this age, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, and it made me wonder if something might happen to me.

And I realized something did happen.

but it happened to my dad.

Now I look back and I tell a story of my dad taking my place.

Maybe I had been the target, that 27th birthday curse coming for me, but my dad protected me.

I know there's no evidence for this, but knowing my dad, it's not a stretch to believe that he would gladly give his life up

to give us what we needed.

So now I see the ways my dad's love for teaching and learning live on in me, and I try to honor these traits and the gift I feel he's given me.