It has been 26 years since my father passed away, yet the void he left has never really gone away. Time may have moved on, but grief and love don’t follow calendars.They live within us every single day. Over the years it has only deepened my realization of what he meant to us — as a father, as a guide, and as the quiet strength of our family.
I often wish, even now, that he could return just once, even for a moment, to see his children doing well in life. I want him to see that the values he worked so hard to instill in us have not faded. They have become the foundation of how we live, how we raise our families, and how we walk through this world. His lessons were never loud or forceful; they were gentle, woven into stories, into small examples, into the way he lived his own life. Those lessons stay with me, and I find myself repeating them to my children, almost without realizing it — as if his voice is still guiding me.
It is one of my biggest regrets that my husband and children never got to meet him. But they know him. They know him through me, through the countless stories I’ve shared — of his discipline, his love for learning and his unique way of explaining even the most complex things with such simplicity. His grandchildren feel his presence even without having seen his face. My son, especially, carries a part of him — his love for mathematics, his logical mind, and his quiet curiosity. When I see that spark in him, I feel as though my father has left behind a piece of himself to live on in the next generation.
Even today, when I sit with my children and help them with their lessons, I find myself using the very same examples my father once used for me. Sometimes, I pause and smile, realizing that his wisdom is still alive — passed down, unbroken, from him to me, and now from me to my children. In this way, he is still teaching, still shaping, still present.
There hasn’t been a single day in the last 26 years when his name has not come up in our home. Sometimes in conversations, sometimes in memories, sometimes in quiet prayers. He has been gone a long time, but he has never been absent. He continues to live with us — in our words, in our choices, in our everyday life.
For me, his absence is not just a loss, it is also a reminder of the deep bond we shared. He may have left this world too soon, but his presence has never left me. It lives on in my heart, in my children, and in the legacy of values and love that will never fade with time.
A father, a teacher, a guide, a protector — all in one. And even after 26 years, still my strength, still my inspiration. ❤️
Miss you papa 💔
Till we meet again
Picture taken one week before he left us 💔
Blessmesai 