18th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
My Last Covid Goodbye with my Dad

My last goodbye to my step dad before he past away in hospice. My daughter and I were visiting him and this was the first time in 4 months that we got to see him in person and not outside of his room window. Step parents are so very important when natural parents can’t be present. I was not able to hug him because of covid rules and he was in so much pain. He did not recognize me or know who I was. It was like in the movie, Titanic when Rose Dewit could barely yell in freezing waters....”come back...come back...come back...come back to me “ and he just faded away and did not know who I was and I could not say my last go byes, and get that last I love you. I want to hold his hand and be there for him when he passed away and I wasn’t there and I failed. This picture is all I have left. This and our amazing memories.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 08.2020
Date Uploaded: 10.2020
Photo Location: Pineville, Nc, United States of America
Copyright: © Tammera Carter