oh wow Joan -- I couldn't even read these...

it's only been 3 months since my husband died.... but I want that one more day so bad...:( I'll have to come back and read this thread with a box of kleenex

I think we all need a group hug:ghug: I've read the book and knew about the movie but at the end of Oprah's show today she said the author of "If I Had One More Day' on her show tomorrow. Patti and Jill and Jack it was great of you to post and yet I think it was good for you to talk about your Moms. One just in March and another in Sept has to be so very hard for you. You know us YTers will keep you in their prayers during this holiday season. The one things about Moms is they always want their kids to be happy but remember them.

Oh Villette I just posted that last post and left you out because I didn't know if you would see this. Be assured we will be have you in our prayers too. Hugs to us all.

It would be my Dad. He was the greatest man I've ever know, and I miss him so much. I would whisper in his ear I'm sorry I wasn't always the greatest daughter, and I love you with all my heart and soul.

It would have to be my Mom AND Dad. I was an only child and we were a very close family. My Mom was ill for many years before she passed and I went to her house daily to look after her. We eventually bought a house with a bigger garden so that we could build a cottage for my folks to live with us. I took care of her and she passed away exactly one year after we moved them here. Her illness and death took it out of me emotionally, I had to go on to anti depressants about 6months before she died and I got breast cancer three months after she passed. The doctors think it was from the stress. But I would do it all over again. I miss her so, I am who I am today because of her.

My Dad died very suddenly, three years after my Mom. At first I was very angry with him for leaving us, it affected my son badly, but now I just miss him.

I would love just one more day to tell them both how much I love them and how thankful I am to have had such wonderful parents.

(PS. They bought me my first Yorkie when I was 21 - 30 years ago:) )

Kleenex please!

It would be my mother.....I moved out to California to take care of my mom. She had successfully conquered bladder cancer.....I moved out in May....she died August 11 from Lymphoma and a broken heart....my step dad had passed in January.

So, if I could have her back for just one day.....just to talk to her quietly and make her last day very special, just doing what she wanted to do, I'd give anything.

It would be my grandma. She died 4 years ago in August, 23 days after my grandfather died. My grandma devoted her life to her kids and my grandfather without much thanks from my grandpa and after he died it was going to be her time to really LIVE and she got cheated out on that. It breaks my heart thinking about it still.

If i had one more day with my Grandma we would bake :) I would visit her on the weekends when i was a kid and that's what we would do together. She taught me how to make genetti's and would always get mad (jokingly) when i wanted to put bright icing on them. To this day i will only use light pink because it was her favorite. Also we promised her we would take her back to Las Vegas and we never got there so we would go back and use the tokens she saved from our first trip.

I miss her so much

I would have to say my grandfather (my mother's father) who passed about 7 years ago.

I would want to spend some time with him to go fishing with him (his favorite thing) and to listen to his stories of when he was growing up (so wish I had recorded all of those stories....as they are now long gone). AND I would tell him that I am sorry for not being there at home when he passed...we all knew it would be soon, as he wished to be home, instead of the hospital...but we went out of town (and I knew it was going to be that weekend, I had that feeling)....but we went and we were not able to be there at his side. The family said that the preacher was talking to him and saying prayers....Papa had one tear fall and a big smile on his face when he passed. Love you Papa!!! :cry8: :wub:

I would love to spend one more day with my daddy. He died 8 years ago. My mom called to tell me he had a stroke and he called me from the emergency room. We left immediately but it was a 7 hour drive. We got there about 2 in the morning but he was on life support. They were only keeping him alive until I got there. I never got to say good bye. But I know he is in heaven watching over me and I talk to him quite frequently. I love you daddy.

I would have to say my grandfather whom I never met.... He died when my dad was 8 years old and I still think to this day that is what made my dad make some of the bad choices he has in life. I would ask him to watch over my father and guide him to be the person that I know he could be. I havent spoken to my dad in over 3 years, hes alive and I know I should just call him but I cant... To much detail to go into. I miss him so much but I dont miss all the stress that came along with him, stress to the point I was beyond sick.
It terrifies me that something will happen to him and I wont have that chance to say to him what I want to say to him.. Dad I love you.
If you knew the whole story of why we arent speaking you would understand my dilema on why I just cant pick up the phone and call him. I really beleive alot of it stems from a gambling addiction.
I always wasnt fond of Christmas because he would gamble all his Christmas spending money away and come Christmas morning he would be so sad and would cry that he didnt have money to buy anyone gifts. Every Christmas I cant get that image of my depressed father out of my head. I still cry every Christmas morning even though we arent speaking.
I love you dad

I didn't know of your Mom's recent passing.Im so sorry for your loss.How difficult that must of been to recieve that news while traveling to see her.I hope you weren't alone.(((Hugs)))

I think she had a hand it that too Patti. What a wonderful gift she gave you!

Your's hit my heart....I posted earlier that I came out to California in May to be with my mom who died in August.....She gave me up for adoption....so, my coming out to be with her was a way to be with my mom after all these years.....I'm 61, she was 3 weeks shy of her 80th Birthday....

((((((((hugs Chrissy))))))))))
 

Chrissy I sent you a pm.

I had posted this on a thread couple years ago for Fathers Day, and have copied and will paste it here now. Oh my gosh, am I ever so thankful that I let myself do what my heart led me to in writing my Daddy.
Following is from a previous post on another thread couple years ago.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am reminded of the letter I wrote to my Dad many years back, when as a child my parents divorced, I never really got to know my Dad and seldom seen him.

In 1979 due to spinal fusion I was flat on my back for six weeks in the hospital, had so much time to think, I thought about him and that the life he was struggling through at that time, being an alcholic. I asked for a piece of paper and pen, I held it on my chest as I lay there and wrote him I wanted to share my love for the Lord and all that he had done for me, I told my Daddy that it wouldn't cost him anything just to give his heart to the Lord and the Lord would lead him through life in a happier way.

I didn't know until months later when my aunt called me and said, her brother, my Daddy had came to see her he had quit drinking and was living such a happy life. Later I got a call telling me he had cancer of the throat and had surgery, I got to talk to him but he had to speak through something to help others to understand what he was saying, we didn't get to talk but briefly and he said to me, "thank you for your letter, it helped to change my life and I know God has a plan for me, I love you."

My Daddy passed away shortly after that. I am so thankful that I wrote that letter, yes, the fusion was a living nightmare but I would have gladly gone through everything all over again because with God placing me there on my back, he enabled me to think and to write the letter to my Daddy.

In closing I would like to add if there is anyone that reads this and is in such a sitation to where maybe a letter to your Dad may help, all I can say is I am so thankful I wrote that to my Dad.

Patti
__________________

Mary, I didn't read that your Mom just died in August. Thank you for posting as I know your pain is so raw right now. Hugs, Joan

My Mom was everything to me. She would give the clothes off her back to us girls.She didn't have a selfish,mean bone her her body.Losing her has literally torn my soul apart.

If I had one more day with her in her healthy state. I would make sure she did something for herself. My Mom passed with very little material things,she was always giving to everyone else. I guessI would tell her that She was the best Mom I could have ever ask for and made sure she knew her worth. I miss you Mom.

What a beautiful thought.....Thank You for sharing....She sounds alot like my late grandmother....

Joyce

My husband, who passed away so tragically at the young age of 29. I didn't get to say good bye.

My grandmother, I miss her so much:(

I saw this post earlier today and cried all the way to work.

It would have to be my dad. The last time I saw him was in my rear view mirror. He was waving good bye as I drove away. A month later, he was gone. I had planned to come to see him around his birthday, but he passed away 2 days before it. He never even got the birthday card I sent to him. I would love to hear his stories about his childhood, growing up , the war, meeting mom, having kids. He was a great cook too!!! What I would say to him would be thanks!! Thanks for loving me and being there for me. I would say I love you!!
Well, I better quit before the computer shorts out.

No apologies Joan !! I started reading these this morning and the sentiments are just beautiful....I may have to do another post - but can't cry cause I have to go to work ....This is such a Nice Thread at the Holidays - it really is.

I hope all those we lost are feeling the love.

My husband, Mark. It's been 2 years since he died and every day when I wake up the pain is just as fresh as the day it happened.

If I had one more day.....I'd hold him and tell him that I didn't know what love was until I met him, that he was my sun, moon, and stars, and that every second I spent with him made me happy. I'd tell him that he was the most honorable man I ever met, and that his humor, sensitivity, and humility made him the sexiest man ever.

If I'd said all those things, Mark would've blushed and then just grinned at me. He was my own "gentle giant".

I miss you, babe.

(((( HUGS)))) Sounds like you were a very lucky woman to have had such a wonderful man.

This is a very beautiful story, reading it it gave me chills. What a wonderful thing to happen and to know you changed your father's life is just awesome.

I also wanted to mention that your 'baby' is adorable!!!

I read this earlier and just couldnt post. I decided t come back and post. with 4 deaths in my family in the last mnth or so, I still would like 1 more day with my daddy who passed away in 2004.

We were told he was getting better, none of us knew he would pass away before we came in the next day. . I never got to say gpdbye .....because they werent truthful with us...I would tell him once more how much I love him, that he is the best daddy in the world, how much I loved doing things with him, playng cards, going for a drive or whatever he wanted to do.
oh to hear him call me his little pickle one more time...................

with my sis in law and brother in law, we knew the end was near, :(we stayed close and left them know how we felt , held there hand, talked to them, and just hugged them till the end. these were very hard but i feel like i had closure with them, something i did nt have with my daddy.
:(

I'm so glad you posted, Hugs and peace to you. Joan

If you can tune in to Opera today Wednesday(today) @4pm est, it will be on this very same subject and I think they said they would have the author of the book. If you can't tape it most ABC shows can be watched on ABC.com and I'm sure her's has to be one of them. I'll be with the kids but will watch tonight via the abc website.

thank you, I will watch it.

I wrote in a previous post of losing my father, what I did not mention was that I lost my mother soon after ( a year later on Mother's Day ) and then my husband passed away in January of the following year. I couldn't possibly pick just one person to spend a day with, as it would just break my heart to do so.
I was with my husband when he passed. He had brain cancer and it was a long process, but I was so grateful to have been with him at that very moment of passing and I do believe we spent many moments telling each other all that needed to be said.
I had also been with my father and he too was sick for a very long time, but as mentioned in my previous post ...we were able to speak in what I would like to believe this very way.

My mother passed suddenly and although she had health problems ...noone suspected she was this close.
I think the things I would share with her would be that I now understood why she was not as loving as I would have hoped. My mother was a child of the war and lived in Germany during that time. She met my father while he was fighting the war and he came back for her after. She was frightfully young, only 17 and to top that off ... she had given birth to my oldest sister during
that time. No one suspected what the war had done to her, but my father soon realized after bringing her home
to the states that she was suffering from mental illness. He never once told us this as children, but as we grew older ...we began to realize that something was not right with our mother and she was very different from the mothers of our friends. I harbored resentment towards my mother for many years and thought how differently my life would have turned out if she had been kinder and more understanding. Now I realize how different HER life might have been if it were I who had been more understanding and kinder to her.
I cannot go back and change this, but I would love to have just one more day to express to her how I now understand and realize how difficult her life must have been and how frightened she must have also been. How I now realize that mental illness is just that ... an illness. In my heart I know that everything happens for a reason and that all the puzzle pieces fit together to form that reason, but I would love to pull that one puzzle piece out .... if only for a short loving moment in time.

I couldn't pick just one. All of my grandparents and step-dad are gone and they each had their special ways that I miss. Daddy and Grandpa would love our house here on the lake, they were both big fishermen...and they have visited in my dreams. I would love it if Grandma could meet my babies, she loved animals...my grandmother on my dad's side was a quilter and I collect antique quilts so there's so much I'd like to talk to her about. I never got to know my Dad's father...he had Parkinson's when we were little so he didn't interact with us much but I'd love to know him. My Dad now has Parkinson's and alzheimers so the time is slowly slipping away with him too.

If I had one more day with any or all of them it would be for a big old fashioned family holiday...I really miss that...Granny P. would enjoy that too, she loved to help at the holidays and I'd like Daddy to be well again so we could visit. But, most of all, I'd like to be able to give each of them the hug I never got to give before they passed and to tell them I love them one more time.