It's now over three months since my Dad died and the longest I have ever gone without talking to him. When I lived abroad, we would talk on the phone a once or twice a week, not for very long but simply to exchange a few words and for him to tell me what the weather outside my door was like. At the time I found it silly but then I've learned that's it's the silly things you miss the most. We often talked about Venice, his memories of a day spent there many years ago, how we wanted to go there together as a family and rent an apartment in the centre. For his birthday in June, I gave him two books on Venice, including the Venice Sketchbook, about the city seen through watercolours which my Dad really loved. I'm glad I did that. In the ambulance, my mother told him he had to be well in time for Venice. He just smiled and nodded.
One of the things I found hardest to accept when he died was the fact that nothing changed. His paints and brushes were there on the bathroom shelf for the next watercolour, the clothes neatly folded in his closet for him to choose, the letters which came through the mailbox for him to open with the paper knife the garden in full bloom awaiting his return. He died on the most beautiful summer's day full of sunshine and nothing changed. There is something almost obscene about going to one of the most beautiful cities in the world without the person you wanted to share it with. We felt his absence in the plane with the missing seat at the end of our row and choked back the tears as we came into land on the perfect summer evening. The apartment was also perfect, cool and quiet, tucked away in a little street just a few minutes from the Rialto and decorated in rich fabrics. It felt good to go back there for lunch of radicchio salad, tomatoes and mozzarella, bought fresh from the amazing market that morning and in the evening we poured a couple of glasses of ice cold Bellini or Prosecco. I lit a candle in every church in memory.
On the second day though, we took the boat over to Isola San Michele to scatter a few of my Dad's ashes close to the water's edge so that he a part of him would always be there, watched over by the cyprus trees. We tried to imagine what he would have enjoyed most and painted, how he would have sat on the terrace of a café having a beer while we went off sightseeing. Yet after a week, I felt ready to come home to the patchwork fields and crispness of the English autumn, the landscapes that he knew. We landed in Birmingham in the middle of a brilliant sunset and I thought of the painful contrast between that evening and the end of June when I arrived back to find my parents waiting for me. It left a lump in my throat.
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Rialto, 6:30am |
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Lunch |
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A shop for cat lovers |
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Isola San Michele |
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Ice cream from Rosa Salva |
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Sheltering in La Salute |
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View from the Campanile of San Giorgio |
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At the Peggy Guggenheim Foundation |
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The Yoko Ono wishing tree in the garden |
Now that a little time has passed, I realise that the shock is gone but what remains is the unbearable longing to see him again. I have so much I'd like to tell him, so many questions I'd like to ask. We talk about him every day, remembering things that made us laugh, talking about what he would have thought about his or that. I will always look for him in the garden now damp and covered with fallen leaves. I can only make the best of what remains, knowing that a part of me is missing.
This broke my heart this morning. I was happy to see your words and images, though. Happy to see you dig into something familiar.
RépondreSupprimerYour beautiful post brought tears to my eyes. The photos of Venice evoked some wonderful visual memories. It is good to see you back on the page so to speak.
RépondreSupprimerJ'ai la gorge serree Emily - c'est bien de l'avoir emmene avec vous a Venise, finalement.
RépondreSupprimerIt is so sad that you father could go to Venice with you... This is a beautiful post and ode to your dad.
RépondreSupprimerIn thoughts with you.
Hugs,
Rosa
This post brought tears to my eyes too :'( I can see that you had a beautiful relationship with your father and I am very sorry that he is gone. My thoughts are with you.
RépondreSupprimerBeautiful images of glorious city brought back memories of my mother with whom I visited Venice. She has been gone for many years and the victim of Alzheimers for many years before that, but I still come across things I want to share with her. My sympathies in the loss of your father.
RépondreSupprimerThis is such a beautiful post. Again, I'd just like to say how sorry I am that your dad's life was cut short and that you miss him so.
RépondreSupprimerBig hugs from Australia.
A x
I felt my heart sink as I read your words, dear Emily. Yet you have made beauty of your pain and your healing. I'll be thinking of you. Take care, Denise
RépondreSupprimerIt's the light in your pictures. Again I am in awe of the way you put things into words and pictures (each picture said something (I imagine) about your dad). much love from Rome x
RépondreSupprimerOh Emily, I am so sorry to read this. Please except my deepest and sincerest condolences for you and your family.
RépondreSupprimerOh Emily, how terribly sad. I have just caught up on your posts (it's the end of semester) and I too, have a lump in my throat. As usual, beautifully written - I wish you peace and strength over the holidays; I know it will be hard for you and your mum.
RépondreSupprimerThis is an outstanding list. Great suggestions, I am with you on the shea butter hand cream. The squirrel tape dispenser and the Moomin mug are my favourites. Cheers.
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