Goodbye my Friend

“words are truly inadequate. god be with you.”

“Nigal, I agree with Pam, there are no words...
Just know that you guys will be in my thoughts and prayers...”

“condolences”

“Craig, Your mom must have been a wonderful person to have raised such a generous and loving man. I'm so sorry for your family's loss. May God comfort you all and support your dad through this difficult time. You all are in my thoughts and prayers.”

“Oh Nigal - I'm so sorry.”

“I can't tell ya how you guys have touched me. Thanks for putting up with my shameless free association.”

“Nigel, Peace be with you and your family. Embrace the comfort from family, friends and fellow hikers. Let it soften the pain of your loss.

Timberwolf”

“Nigal, I am so sorry. Peace be with you.


I have always loved reading what you write here. That is the best thing that I've ever seen you write. It was truly moving.”

“Sorry”

“thanks for sharing this. very humbling. peace to you and your family, nigal.”

“I am sorry for your loss.”

“I know what you mean about the "horribly beautiful day".

That was a very touching bit of writing and it seems that there are words and your sharing them with us is truly special.”

“Nigal, I'm so sorry, You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.”

“Our condolences Nigal.
Peace be with you and yours.”

“Oh Nigal....I'm so sorry....that was so beautiful.....”

“Nigal, I'm sorry to hear about your loss. Thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Powerful words and very nicely written.”

“Nigal, I am so sorry.
you have my email if you ever need to talk....

hugss to you and all of your family!”

“I'm sorry, Nigal.”

“My condolences. Both of my parents are gone, and the hole never gets filled. Hang onto warm memories.”

“Wow!

You are right "there are no words" that can really convey the reality of your day - but I think you came as close as humanly possible. My knee jerk raction is to say "I'm so sorry" but that is such a tiny piece of how I react to your news. I laughed and cried while reading your post. I imagine your wisdom and perspecitve will be a source of strength for you and your family as you find ways to get through this.
last edited: 5/11/09 8:25:11 AM”

“My Deepest sympathies Nigal.

All I could do for my father in this situation was try to be there for him as he found his own way to deal with his loss.

It took a while, but he got there in the end. I hope your father finds his way.
last edited: 5/11/09 9:03:35 AM”

“craig, your family is in my prayers...i appreciate (and i hope your family does too) your realistic outlook of the situation...i hope that future mother's days will be a day of joy rather than a day of morning for you”

“That was so beautifully written, as only something coming from the heart can truly do.

You and your family are in my thoughts. My deepest sympathies to you all.”

“Nigal.

As said before, not the right words.

A beautiful tribute to your mom and family.

Best.”

“Sorry to hear this Nigal. Prayers for you and your family.”

“I'm so sorry Nigal.

That was beautiful.”

“Peace and comfort to you and your family at this time...

I think I need to head to PA to see my parents...

'32oz”

“RIP”

“Nigal, that was beautiful. Thanks for sharing your bittersweet day with us. You know you're in my prayers.”

“I got so tired of grieving over other people's loss that I usually avoid this thread now.

Then I saw your name, Nigal.


I know it helped to write those words. And I know how right you are how hollow most of the comforting words sound during our grief.

But you may want to copy the posts on this thread (except for this stupid thing of course). It may help you in the future to read some of these comforting words as you move into the different stages of grief.

My mother got pancreatic cancer and died within six months. She went downhill so quickly that she didn't suffer long which was a true blessing.

I stood over her, kissed her on the forehead, and told her that I loved her as she took her last breath and died. It was the most horribly beautiful day of my life.

Sometimes the best comfort we can provide to our family is just to be there for them.

Love you, Nigal.”

“I am so sorry for your loss. Peace.”

“sorry”

“Thanks everyone. I have to tell you guys something. Word are not hollow and they do mean something and they do make us feel better. Do they take away the pain? No and they're not supposed to. What your kind words do say is, "I feel bad for you and I care for you.". And when you're down that's all and exactly what you need.

Thanks again to all.”

“So terribly familiar. My condolences,
Joey”

“My heart goes out to you. I lost my mom about a year ago and I heard this song and it helped me get through:

When you cant find the light,
That got you through the cloudy days,
When the stars aint shinin bright,
You feel like youve lost youre way,
When those candle lights of home,
Burn so very far away,
Well you got to let your soul shine,
Just like my daddy used to say.

[chorus]
He used to say soulshine,
Its better than sunshine,
Its better than moonshine,
Damn sure better than rain.
Hey now people dont mind,
We all get this way sometime,
Got to let your soul shine, shine till the break of day.

I grew up thinkin that I had it made,
Gonna make it on my own.
Life can take the strongest man,
Make him feel so alone.
Now and then I feel a cold wind,
Blowin through my achin bones,
I think back to what my daddy said,
He said boy, in the darkness before the dawn:

[chorus]
Let your soul shine,
Its better than sunshine,
Its better than moonshine,
Damn sure better than rain.
Yeah now people dont mind,
We all get this way sometimes,
Gotta let your soul shine, shine till the break of day.

Sometimes a man can feel this emptiness,
Like a woman has robbed him of his very soul.
A woman too, God knows, she can feel like this.
And when your world seems cold, you got to let your spirit take control.

[chorus]
Let your soul shine,
Its better than sunshine,
Its better than moonshine,
Damn sure better than rain.
Lord now people dont mind,
We all get this way sometimes,
Gotta let your soul shine, shine till the break of day.

Oh, its better than sunshine,
Its better than moonshine,
Damn sure better than rain.
Yeah now people dont mind,
We all get this way sometimes,
Gotta let your soul shine, shine till the break of day.”

“Today is my mother's memorial and I got to do the music for it. I picked two songs that I think fit perfect.

Paul McCartney's End of the End

Natalie Merchant's Kind and Generous”

“My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. You have written a wonderful tribute to your Mother.”

“that is a great goodbye song, End of the end. My condolences. The end of the end is the start of a journey to a much better place, but a much better place, would have to be special, because this wasn't bad.”

“Oh dear... I had been dreading this since about a week.
My dad just called me, to tell me that my old cat Felix just died. He had been 19 years old.

I got my first cat when I was a 7 years old kid. She had been a stray, probabyy about a year old or so, when we got her. She was 16 when she died and I was the one who drove her to the vet when she was put down. I wanted to wait some time to get over her, but I knew the time would come that I wanted a new cat in my life. Preferably a black one again, maybe with some white markings on the chest or white paws would look nice, I thought. Once I had seen a beautifull black cat with semi long hair and white whiskers.

Several month later, I went to the shelter and there they had this 4 month old kitten. I couldn't belief it - he had long fluffy hair, his coat was glossy black, with white markings on his chest, all four paws were white and he had extremly long white whiskers. He was absolutly perfect. We named him Felix, the name which means "the lucky one".
I always guessed he was either half a norwegian forest cat or siberian forest cat, which are both semi-long her breeds, with thick, glossy coats. Felix grew up to an impressiv, large and muscular tom, but he was always a very gentle character.
10 years ago, when I moved to England, I had to leave him with my parents. One of the hardest thing about moving away from home was that I lost my best friend. I never had a cat since. At least he was still there and I knew that he had a good life, that he was the much cared and loved pet of my parents and I saw him every time I visited my family. The last years he was getting old and became slow, but still looked good and his black coat was glossy as always. I saw him this christmas and he was an old gentleman, enjoying his routine of getting his coat brushed every morning, having his meals served at regulare times and leisurly walks in the garden.
Last weekend I went home for my birthday, to spend it with my family. Felix was there, still looking good, but when I ran my hand over his back I could feel every single bone. Under the thick coat was hiding a very old, very meager cat. Looking down at him from above his abdomen was enormously bloated. When I pushed on his belly it felt like a water filled balloon, but didn't cause him pain or discomfort. His breathing was heavy. What I saw was a very old and tired cat.
I knew, at the end of those three days, before driving back to Bern, this time I must not forget to say goodbye to him, just in case....
Sunday morning as I was packing everything into the car, in the usuall rush of departure, running back and forth, I nearly forgot the cat. Usually when I was leaving Felix either ignored or simply didn't care about me leaving. Usually I patted him, but he would hardly look up. Well, you know, just the way cats are.
This morning I had seen him sleeping as always on the bench in the kitchen. Standing in the kitchen I had said goodbye to my parents and was about to leave when I suddenly remembered the cat. I turned around to the sleeping cat, but to my surprise, there he sat, upright and looking at me in a way...as if, this time, he had been waiting for me to say goodbye? His ears and whiskers were hanging low and he looked so tiered and weary, like the weight of the world was pulling him down. All of a sudden my throat was hurting as I silently run my hand over his head as I had done so many times. Then I turned, left my parents house and drove home.
That was last Sunday.

Tonight my dad called me. There I already knew what was coming - my dad as good as never calls me. My mum had taken Felix to the vet. He had become very weak, could hardly walk a couple of step, before he had to sit down. There was nothing they could do to improve his condition. He was put down.
I don't know if my dad had been crying, he's not that type of man, only once I saw him cry, for a couple of seconds of weakness, during his mothers funeral, but I heard him sniffle a couple of times on the phone.

You know, I just can't get that cats look out of my mind when I saw him for the last time: he had been sitting there and looking at me, as if he knew....
:-(
:-(
:-(”

“BOOOHOOOhoooo....!!!”

“Euro, honey, I am so sorry. I too, know what it's like to lose a longtime pet. I had my cat Scooter for 21 years when I finally had to have her put down. I came by her as a 6 week-old kitten. My landlady at the time noticed a mother cat with her brood had hunkered down amongst some junk on her patio and she asked me to catch them. Scooter was the hardest one to catch and the runt of the litter. Feisty little critter, she was. A couple of days later, the cat's owner came around inquiring if I had seen the cats. I reluctantly replied that I had, because I knew that if the mother cat took them away, it was because they were in a bad environment. But I kept Scooter. She would follow me everywhere. I only had 3 blocks to walk to work. Scooter would follow me to a busy street and I would turn around and tell her to go back home, and she did. At 5 o'clock, she was there, waiting for me every day. When I visited a friend across the alley, she would jump the fence to his yard so that she could be with me. When we moved to Alabama, she made the cross-country trip with Mother G in the moving van. I had flown out a month earlier to get the house ready. I had that girl for nearly half of my life at the time. When she became weak and sick, I knew our time together was over. I cried like a baby when the vet stuck the needle in her. I swore I would never have another cat, but that didn't last long. I now have 2. But I will never forget Scooter.”

“Euro, I feel your pain. You can be happy knowing that you and your family gave your cat a long and wonderful life and, whatever your belief about the afterlife is, he's now in a place where he's no longer old and weary”

“We lost Ethel at 19 years.”

“I'm sorry Euro.”

“awwww.
:(

Felix had a good long life and now he is at peace. I am sorry for your loss. No matter how many years we share with our animal companions, it can never be long enough...”

“I'm sorry, Karin. Boohoo, too :(


Cats are the coolest - too bad they don't fit into my current liestyle.”

“Felix was indeed the lucky one and you were too, having a good friend like him.

I'm sorry for you and look forward to playing in the snow next week.”

“I'm so sorry.”

“Euro, so sorry to hear about Felix. Our pets certainly are family and it hurts us when they have to leave us. Having been there many times with both dogs and cats, only time will heal. Remember the good times with Felix and know that he had a pretty darn good life.”

“So Sorry Euro :)
we lost a wonderful cat awhile back, so I know your sadness...
http://www.facebook.com/claudia.nowlan?success=1#!/photo.php?pid=3174110&id=577767789”