The Journey Begins

My entire life I have feared what it would be like to lose a parent. I’ve had many close friends who have lost a parent or loved one and I’ve watched as they have each grieved and processed it differently. I would always wonder how I would respond to such a difficult loss. Would I go through a great depression? Would I ever accomplish happiness again? How long does the grieving process take? Why do some people seem to get through it with a positive outlook and others don’t? Why do some live with years of regret, sometimes never over coming it, while others accomplish peace and happiness? Little did I know this fear would soon become a reality. This blog is about my journey through that process.

On Valentine’s Day, we found out my dad’s aortic valve had to be replaced and would require open-heart surgery a week later. While he made it through the procedure, rare complications made his survival impossible. On February 22, my dad was gone.

At 81, my dad lived a long healthy life but there were so many things he still wanted to see and do. I’m lucky that we were so close and often discussed many of the places he wanted to visit and things he still dreamed of doing but never had the chance. I’ve decided to help fulfill these dreams by spreading his ashes at these places while doing those things.

My hope is that, through this blog, maybe it can help others out there that have either lost a loved one, or, like I once was, curious to know what it is like to go through this before it happens. Death, as difficult as it is to face, is inevitable. All of us will suffer a great loss at some point in our lives.

For the next month, I invite you to join me as I’ll be traveling the world, checking off my dad’s “bucket list,” at over twenty different locations, in nine different countries... I’m nervous, excited, happy, sad, yet so anxious to see where this adventure will lead. I’m grateful to be able to share it with all of you.

Today is the first stop: Hawaii.