Last week, we gathered to say goodbye to my father, in the same forest, beside the same tree, where we stood only two months ago to say goodbye to my mother. The same place, the same quiet air, the same sacred ground that holds both of them now. And although it breaks my heart, it also fills me with peace. They are together again where they always belonged.
We came dressed in black with a touch of green, his favorite color, as he wished, and in the way he always loved me to express my emotions through what I wear: a hat with a Gamsbart, traditional touches he would have smiled at, and the CHANEL bag he gave me as a young girl, the very first one, carried close to my heart today.
And as if the sky wanted to honor him too, the day was bright and cold, a true Kaiserwetter: icy air, but sunlight pouring through the trees, warming us from above. It felt as though he were sending us one last golden greeting.
There was so much love around us. So many memories. My childhood friends came, a gesture that touched me deeply and helped carry me through this day. And all around, I felt kindness, warmth, and support from every side.
At one moment, I leaned toward the tree, the same tree where we stood for my mother, and kissed its bark. And in that brief second, it felt as if I was holding her again. As if the tree had become a bridge between worlds, carrying both of them in its roots and branches. A quiet embrace that wrapped itself around my heart.
My father was the most loyal, honest, and authentic man I have ever known. A true good soul, gentle, humorous, sociable, always ready to help, always seeing the best in others. He loved nature, he loved traveling, he loved wandering through the world with curiosity in his eyes. And he loved deeply especially my mother. Their bond was one of the great loves of a lifetime.
He gave love, and he received love. He lived with kindness, and he left with kindness. And now, after 83 years in this world, he has returned home back into a greater light, back to the woman he loved with all his heart.
It moves me to think that their journeys began and ended in such harmony: Two months apart. One final path leading them back to each other. A circle completed with grace. It was a day of farewell but also a day of gratitude. Gratitude for the memories, for the laughter, for the stories, for the quiet moments, for the love that will stay with us forever.
And as the sunlight shone through the trees, I felt something else too:
A gentle reassurance.
A whisper from above.
We are together again.
We are at peace.
We are watching over you.
Papa, I love you.
Thank you for everything you were, everything you gave, everything you taught me.
You will stay in my heart, always.
And now you are with Mama again.
That thought brings me comfort, and maybe even a little bit of joy.
Rest in peace, Papa.
You are home.
With love, Sandra
Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht
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