Sorry to hear that, JB.

My condolences.

I'm sorry for your loss, Mr. Byrne. My condolences to you.

Sorry to hear this, JB.

Sincere condolences.

••

As I did when my mother died, I find myself contemplating the changing position my parents have held in my life (which I suspect is not uncommon among many of us).

As a child, I could not imagine anything more horrible than the loss of either parent. In my occasionally "troubled" teenage years, there were days when such a thing seemed not so terrible at all. As I moved into adulthood (or a close approximation), and especially after I moved to the States, my parents became far less directly involved in my life, voices on the phone and occasional visitors. At my present time of life, Dad and I had both come comfortably to terms with the inevitability of ending our sojourns here on Earth. We both remembered Shakespeare's words, "…your father lost a father; That father lost, lost his…"

And so it goes.

Your words ring true JB - I have lived around 120 miles from my parents for the past 20 odd years. We commune probably once or twice a month and see each other three or four times a year.

While I know I will miss them, I do wonder if their deaths will hit my brothers harder as they still live closer and see / speak with them more often.