My mother gave my sister, brother and me a most wonderful gift.   When she and my stepfather heard the news that our dad was given less than a month to live, she informed us that they wanted to fly us up to Washington to say good-bye to our father.  To make this gift even more touching, my parents have been divorced for over 40 years.  My mom must have known that the three of us needed to go.

The gift she gave us was not only the airline tickets but the gift of spending time together and bonding as siblings.

These last few days I think I laughed and cried harder than any time in my life.  The bonding between the three of us was incredible.  We had the opportunity to spend time with my dad’s wife of 18 years and her grown children who my dad loved as his own.

The loss of our father was harder on us than we ever could have imagined, but what we gained was so much more.  We now have a larger family, not by blood but by a stronger bond called love.

To my stepmom Lee, my brother Daniel, sister-in-law April and sister Chrissy, thank you for loving our dad so much.  We are comforted knowing that Dad had such love surrounding him these last 18 years.

I speak for my sister, brother and (me!) in telling you we are forever grateful and honored to call you family.