My father-in-law, Alfred, passed away last year. With consultation with his doctors, Alfred decided to stop dialysis and we knew it was only a matter of time. He was surrounded by family. But, the loss was felt on the other side of the world, as we were in the Solomon Islands.

Nightly boardings were a real concern and it was impossible for Rick to return to Canada to be with his dad. The distance was bridged, in part, over the phone and the strong bond that Alfred and Rick had over a lifetime.

But, looking back at pictures of the time we spent at his home in Drumheller, I scratch my head at some of our activities. For example, had we known that in 5 years Alfred would be gone, would we have put priority on pulling out the old pond in his backyard? Perhaps our time might have been better spent going out as a family and eating pancakes.

One of my best Christmas’ ever was when Alfred and his family came to visit us in Ottawa, and we had apple cider, and cooked hotdogs over an open fire in our backyard in the snow.

This short story about Alfred was published in “Lives Lived” in the The Globe and Mail.

I’m sharing this because the story feels like he’s come for a little visit.