I said Goodbye to my Dad today. It was the last time I will ever see him alive. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life.

I stood in Dad’s basement by myself. I’d just finished a webinar for work and it was a really great session. I knew I had to deliver an amazing presentation, and I did. High energy, positive vibes. I knew the material like the back of my hand and I didn’t miss a beat. But now the session was over, and it was time to go home. You see, my wife is also losing a loved one and she’d spent the previous week in Ohio visiting her family and saying her final goodbyes to both her Grandfather and my Dad, so I hadn’t seen her for more than a few hours in the past 2 weeks. It was time to go home. I don’t know what made me think of that specific scene from The Office, but I pulled up YouTube on my phone and searched for it. I watched it a few times, because it captured the exact thoughts in my head at that moment. It’s such a powerful scene from that show. The character, Michael Scott, was leaving the show for the very last time. I’m sure I’m not the only person who has watched that show who truly believes that that scene wasn’t Michael Scott talking. I’m pretty sure that that scene was the actor, Steve Carell talking. I wonder if it was even a scripted moment at all? Regardless, it captured the moment for me. I knew it wasn’t going to be fun, but I walked up and sat next to my Dad in his chair in the living room. He asked my brother to join us, so he could speak to both of us. My sister — his little girl — will have her moment with him in the coming days, but today was our time to say goodbye to him.