I’m 17 and my little sister is 15. Our dad died about 10 years ago. It was sudden and devastating. One day he kissed and hugged me and sis and told us he loved us and then we never heard from him again.
At the time I couldn’t fully grasped why he chose to stay away even though mom tried to explain it to us. I missed him and thought I did something wrong to make dad mad. I repeatedly called his phone hoping he would answer but it always went directly to his voicemail.
At his funeral, I realized I would never see him again and I broke down. I don’t remember much from that day except Uncle David held me the entire time. He held me throughout the funeral, during the drive home, and as I fell asleep that night. Uncle Alan did the same thing with sis.