Perspective of One

Dear Leon

Dear Leon,
It’s been nearly eight months and I still miss you so terribly. I thought that writing to you might help me move forward and writing can never be a wrong choice.

I love you. Every day there are things that happen or things I hear and my first thought is ‘I need to tell Leon’. That always makes me so sad, so now I will tell you.

Geoff and I are okay. A bit lost, but we will get through because we have to. Toby and Jenna moved in with us in March. It was nice to have them around, but it just delayed the grieving process longer. And the house is really too small for two families. Their dog Cayia and Max became fast friends. They moved into their own apartment in Plattsburgh about three weeks ago. It was strange at first but it is nice to have our space and some privacy back. I think Geoff is better too, you know how he is about his space.

It’s already September! Most of the last eight months have been a blur. I’ve been focusing on just putting one foot in front of the other but know I have to make some plan for moving on.

I sold your car and paid off the heat pumps. They have been great, we’ve had a really hot summer. Some other things I will catch you up on in future posts:

Tori, Jim, Kris and Megan moved to Tennessee. They all got COVID but are okay now.

Ron across the street’s wife passed away a few months ago.

Max is growing into a really good dog - you’d barely recognize him, he is huge and pretty well behaved!

We did the New York State fair trip that you and I had planned. Max did well as Geoff’s service dog. But your absence was always present.

I did retire at the end of June. Geoff really requires the full time care as you know. We walk Max almost daily, and quite often with Phil and Bonnie and their puppy Ollie.

COVID had let up in the spring, but a variant is on the rise. Most restrictions have been lifted but Geoff and I were our masks when inside in public even though we have had our shots.

We had to postpone your celebration of life when Tori and crew got sick. I am not sure how we will handle it now, but I finished a tribute to you. That was the most difficult thing I have done to date, but it allowed Geoff and I to grieve a bit on our terms. This was the second time he has actually cried - hard to believe with his disability - and it has been good to have some conversation and let him express his devastating loss. The first time caught me off guard. He had come home from one of his day outings and said he had seen and talked with his former aide that was in the terrible accident when we wondered if he would make it. He said ‘he’s alive’. Then he started naming other men that work with him and saying he’s alive or he’s not dead. Then he said why is dad dead? It was hard. He cried a lot. We talked about how much we miss you and it doesn’t feel fair and it’s okay to be sad and it’s important to talk about these feelings.

As you can imagine he is having a very difficult time dealing with this loss. Mostly it comes out with behavior, but Max has been a real positive for him.

We watched your tribute together and went through about a half box of Kleenex. We did have some good memories. It’s just so very hard. You are the love of my life. The very hardest part is not being able to hear your voice. I didn’t know your time was so near. It just doesn’t seem fair. I miss you more than words can express.

You’re in my heart forever. Meet me in my dreams.
I love you.



No matter how educated, talented, rich or cool you believe you are, how you treat people ultimately tells all. INTEGRITY is EVERYTHING!