Good-Bye Bradley

You were buried today.  I didn't attend your funeral because I wasn't sure I should.  However, that didn't change the fact that you've been on my mind since I heard the news last Thursday.  There are moments when I can't stop crying and those times I can't stop smiling thinking about the love we shared and all the fun we had together.   

Losing two people over the past 18 months that meant so much to me is indescribable.  I can't explain my emotions from one hour to the next.  Your death reminds me of hers last July.  A reminder of how short life is, that we're not promised tomorrow.  Both of you dying unexpectedly.  It's just too much.

Many people are hurting from your passing.  I've been praying for your parents, your brothers, your friends, your wife and especially your daughter.  People have been honoring you with their blogs and memories.  It's quite beautiful.

I realized something today.  You died exactly 26 years to the day that we had our first date.  You hounded me at that Halloween Party until I agreed to go out with you the next day!  I remember it like it was yesterday.  You were a man with a beautiful heart and I was blessed to have shared part of your life with you. 

Although some of our time together may have been painful, today, I want to remember those that were wonderful, as there were many.  Because of you, I believe in true love and discovered what it meant to truly love a man.  My love for you may have changed over the years, but I never stopped.  And even though we'd gone our separate ways, so many times, I was reminded of you.  Whether it was a song I'd hear, a movie, a book I was reading, there you were.  It always made me smile.  You were infectious.  You were the kind of man that touched people's lives so as they'd never forget you.  Not to mention that to this day, you were one of the funniest guys I've ever known!  You had a way to make me smile, even on a bad day.

You will forever be missed by all who knew you and your memory resides in a place of my heart that will always belong to you and you alone.  I have no regrets.  Because "It is better to have loved deeply and lost, than never to have loved at all."  Thank you for that.

Good-bye for now.  Until we meet again.