Embracing Birth and Death

Last year, I witnessed my grandson being born into this world. I also supported my father to transition from this world.

Both have been some of the more powerful moments of my life. My brother and I held my father’s hands as his breathing slowed and his heart worked harder to keep his body alive. Through our tears, we told him how much he was loved, that we would walk alongside him, and that he was not alone. We urged him to go in peace and not be afraid.

At the last moment of his life, he raised his head, opened his eyes wide and looked at us both, a moment that felt like acknowledgment and deep connection. And then he closed his eyes and took his last breath.

It is a moment that is seared into my soul, just as the moment when my grandson was born will forever remain, both with a visceral fierceness and incredible tenderness.