To Say Goodbye

Dear Raymond,

I love you. I really do. And I know you loved me too, even though I didn’t deserve it. I’m sorry that I was a horrible daughter. That I didn’t go to your house every weekend like my brothers did. That I never went on those father-daughter fishing trips, and that I never gave you my report card to hang on your fridge. I’m sorry if you ever doubted that I loved you.

You were a really strong person. You fought all of your sicknesses like a soldier. You didn’t let the fact that you didn’t have legs get in the way of living a normal life. You didn’t let cancer get in the way of you doing everything you wanted to do. I really respected you, and I still do, even if you didn’t know it.

Goodbye. I love you and I always will, even if you’re not with us anymore. I just wish I was a bigger person and told you all of this before you died.

I love you and I’m sorry,
-Ainsley