Monday, December 24, 2012

Today 
is the birthday 
of my sons father, 
my former husband, 
and though he’s been dead 
for a quarter of a century, 
there’s not a Christmas Eve that’s gone by 
when I’ve not thought of him – 
and given thanks for his presence in my life.


We didn’t have forever, 
we had impermanence.

We didn’t have perfect, 
we had flawed…

but we had real – 
in all its manifestations.

Tomas, I’m glad you were born.


I’m glad you were you 
and we were us.

Without you, 
these guys wouldn’t be here – 
being who they are – 
and my world would be 
infinitely diminished.

If bringing them into the world 
was reason alone 
for our time together, 
then we were a great success.

Happy Birthday, TR!
You would be very proud of our sons; 
they're the best things 
we ever did!

ps: in case you think you don't 'live on'
take a look at this -
and reconsider!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

What a really nice sentiment, but what a shame he's been gone for so long. Looks like you did quite well raising the boys though. I hope you have a great Christmas, and I'm thinking he would be looking down on you guys, smiling. Merry Christmas.

Donna said...

Thanks, Mark. It certainly wasn't easy raising them alone - but our sons are terrific guys - who have missed their fathers presence deeply as they were growing up. While I intellectually knew that losing a parent at a young age is life altering, living it is a powerful lesson in just HOW much it changes your perspective on the world! It's not a lesson I wanted either of them to learn... but they've dealt with it beautifully.