Appreciating Memories and Letting Go

 Today was a very sad day in our lives. Sadly, we had to attend the funeral service(virtually, due to Covid concerns rising again) of our dear friend who unexpectedly and very suddenly had passed away last week on Sunday July 25th, 2021. I will always remember him as a very caring, jolly, and adventurous person. Whenever we would gather together with friends, he would talk about his latest travels(pre-pandemic) and all of the great food and experiences he had. He loved travelling, seeing new places, and exploring the culture and talking with the people he met.

He was a man of few words, very private about his life, but when it came to friends and family he would do anything to make sure everyone was enjoying themselves and felt comfortable. After hearing all of the words spoken about him today, I had no idea how many people he had an impact on. But I can tell, he had a deep heart and was more like the silently loving father or uncle to many. The type of person who would do things behind the scenes that no one would notice until later. He would refuse any type of recognition because this is just his nature to help others in need. 

He loved Hawaiian t-shirts to the point where when I first met him I thought it was actually a joke! But no, he truly loved them and wore them all throughout the years I have known him.

He loved playing boardgames and we would always tease him because he would spend so much time thinking and calculating his moves and decisions. He was very competitive and we would always joke that we always had to team up against him just to win the game. As long as he didn't win, our collective mission was accomplished. I think most times we played, he was actually taking it easy on us just so we would have a chance and the game wouldn't be so unbalanced.

As one of his other friends spoke about during the funeral service, he was a man who stuck to his words and stood his ground no matter what. We would try to pressure him to reveal a little bit more information about his family, his age, his job, dating life, but he never would cave and would always just smile and keep silent. As we grew to know him more throughout the years he would occasionally loosen his armor and reveal a little bit more about himself. I remember a few months ago, we found out that he was actually a CTO of a company and we would always tease him and call him the "Big Boss".

This event is tragic because we truly lost a great friend and a warm soul in this world. I truly believe that any person that met him and had him in their lives had a true ally. This event makes me also think back to an equally sad event 2 years ago when we also tragically lost another friend in our group in a car accident. When I reflect on both of these events, although our good friends are gone from this world, their memories live on in all of us. I appreciate and cherish the good times we had with them during their time on this Earth and those memories cannot be lost and forgotten so easily. 

I also realize through this experience that I have a very hard time letting go of the people in my life that I love. Friends and family hold a piece of my heart and losing them is losing a piece of myself. I have found that the saying that "time heals all wounds" does apply to me, but it does take time. As I heard today, feeling such heavy pain and anguish from losing a friend means that your connection to them and their impact on your own life was truly great, which in it of itself is a great blessing and something to reflect on. 

Rest in Peace my Friends. We will all miss you greatly and I hope that if there truly is an experience after our time in this world that I will be able to reunite with you again.