Another Day...

Well...today was the day. The father of one of my closest childhood/teenage friends passed away. He was diagnosed just a few months ago with a very aggressive cancer, and although they tried a couple of attempts at treatment, it was quickly obvious that nothing was going to achieve any kind of a cure. My friend, Alek, was in town a little over week ago to see his dad, and we met for a drink. I hadn't seen him in probably 15+ years, although I had seen his parents fairly regularly over the years. The whole thing has really thrown me into the past. I have vivid memories of spending time at the Webster house...especially on snow days when my mom was at work and his mom was at home. I remember playing in the snow for hours and then coming in to warm up and his mom making hot chocolate for us. I can remember being there when his dad would come home from work, and he always just included me as though I were a part of their family (and I craved being a part of a "normal" family like that when I was a kid). Then there were all the times when we were in high school, and I would spend hours talking to Alek on the phone or hanging out at his house. He was like a brother to me, and his parents felt like family to me too. It's just so strange to think about his dad being gone. It just reminds me of how time is passing so quickly, and how this is the kind of stuff all of us have to face. I'm not quite sure what all of the lessons have been in this crazy, difficult year of being 39, but I hope soon I can look at all of this and make some kind of sense out of it, or at least some kind of peace.