My dad died six weeks ago. I wasn't there when he died and didn't see him before the end. Part of me didn't believe he was dead because there was no visual sign for closure. I even had a dream last week where my dad looked healthy and younger and I told him, "I knew you weren't dead!"

Last weekend, my three sisters and I converged on Sunriver, OR - my dad and stepmom's summer home. As we got closer to our destination, I felt heavier and heavier. It was my doom approaching. I knew that once we arrived at the house and he wasn't there, that his death was real. I was almost suffocating with it by the time we arrived. Friday night was tough.