Member-only story
“Have You Forgiven Him Yet?”
How I Learned to Let Go
Today is my daughter’s birthday. Unlike other birthdays, she is celebrating this one 4055 miles and 6 hours away in Sweden. She followed love, and will be there for a very long time.
Long Distance Birthday
At the pre-arranged hour, her father and I squeezed over my desk, where I had the largest computer screen. We pulled up two rocking chairs and finally got them positioned so our faces would fit into that tiny window in the upper corner of the Facetime screen. When she initiated the call, we did a really pathetic, but enthusiastic “Happy Birthday To You,” which she clearly endured more than enjoyed. She was happier than I’ve seen her in years, full of descriptions of a weekend trip, the birthday gifts from her boyfriend who really went the distance to make the day special. She told us about her plans to go to a local bath house, where she and “a bunch of old ladies” would strip down naked, run into a 50 degree lake and then retreat into a wood burning sauna. “I love it!” she exclaims. “You’re not leaving are you? “ I ask, half -jokingly. “Nope,” she answered.
Scrunched together, jockeying for position in the tiny window, we laughed like crazy, and I remembered thinking, “This is joy.” We gave her good-byes and good wishes. And as we watched her fade from the…
