Boxing Day

Boxing Day in particular was a day that my Dad had been aiming to feel better for during all the time he was in hospital.  Back in early September, before he started to have the breathing problems which led to his diagnosis of asbestos-related lung cancer, he and Mum had booked a Boxing Day family meal at their favourite hotel near their home in Essex.  Having a family get-together meant so much to Dad, and he insisted that even if he couldn't go to the lunch, the rest of us were to go ahead without him.  In the end, after his unexpected passing on Tuesday night, that is exactly what we did.  There should have been ten around the table.  Sadly, on the day there were only nine.  It was Dad's last Christmas treat for us all.