Dad has passed.....

[JonathanB]

My best wishes. The year after I lost my father were dreadful for me. It was unexpected and there was a whole new relationship with my mother, who had been very close and dependent of him.

Funnily enough, after my mother died, I didn't experience the dreadful depression I'd known with my father' loss. I'd known she'd had a terminal condition for four months, she admitted from the first it was terminal and I spent as much time as I could with her in her care home.

You probably will know deep unhappiness at the loss of your father. Don't try to deny your sense of loss - so many nowadays talk of a funeral as a "celebration of the life of .." and deny the natural need for mourning. Find your own way to cope with this loss, but don't be ashamed or surprised at feelings of depression. They can be horrible, but they are the price of love.

I hope you find a way of coping, as I hope I have.