To my dearest Ella & Hudson
I’m writing this now, for you to read in many years to come. Right now, you are too young to understand. Too little to comprehend what it means to have someone close to you pass away. Yesterday we said goodbye to your beloved Didda. It’s hard to find the right words we can use to explain what has happened, where he is now, and why he has gone. Last week he passed away, and right now, all I want to do is keep his memory alive for you, to treasure in your hearts.
Whilst I cannot help you to understand right now, I CAN help you in years to come, to look back and see how much he loved you. For you to know that your Didda was so incredibly proud of you, and how happy you made him. There are so many memories, many of which you won’t remember. However there are so many little things that we will miss, that I want you to know:
We will miss how he called you his little Champions.
We will miss how we smiled from ear to ear and clapped as your smiled at him.
We will miss his constant fear that you would knock your heads on the coffee table.
We will miss him always telling you not to touch the cactuses.
We will miss him calling you his little ‘Strutca’ – affectionately known as ‘Little Bread / Little One’ in Slovenian.
We will miss him hiding the torch for you to climb up and find behind the couch.
We will miss his love of ‘Deal or no deal’, and the way that Ella would exclaim ‘no deal’ with him
We will miss him eating pancakes with you
We will miss him trying to beat you in a race to finish your chicken soup
We will miss him teaching you words from his home land
We will miss him tinkering in his garage, and you helping him to water the concrete and plants
We will miss him at Rosebud
We will miss the arguments we had over saving the purple Jacaranda, and his annoyance over the mess it makes when it drops its leaves
We will miss seeing his slippers at the back door
We will miss seeing him lift you up to touch the Christmas decorations that hung from the ceiling
We will miss the walks to the shops that he had with you
We will miss the look of love that he had for you, and the way in which he held you in his arms
We will miss the way you yelled ‘Didda’ with such love and adoration.
Ella and Hudson, you were so blessed to have your Didda in your lives. We will all miss him. He loved you dearly and was truly at his happiest when you were with him. In the years to come, I want you to know that each time we talk about him, or look at a photo, he brought you so much happiness.
These memories will love in our hearts forever.
Love Mum & Dad xx
