I wish I could tell you everything, especially on days like this. It is a little ironic, we met because I was experiencing the worst loss at the time. You gave me advice on how to deal with everything I was going through and now I’m using that advice to cope with the loss of you. Thank you. Thank you for listening to me, thank you for treating me with kindness, thank you for being the first hug I had in years, thank you for sticking with me until the very end, and thank you for saving my life. I can't wait to see you again.

It's important to know that I had only met John for the first time at our father's funeral in 2010. I had spoken to him once before on the phone as a teenager for about twenty minutes. But he just wasn't a part of my life. Meeting him in person I expected we would grieve together alongside our other family and then part ways.

But I was in for a surprise.