A Long Time

2006_02_17_21-08-39-885_n0.large.jpegIt’s been a very long time since I cranked up the blog. Busy Christmas,
much to do with work, a number of trips for work to the US and UK.

That all came to a sudden halt on the 7th of February. The fine
gentleman on the left, my dad, passed away suddenly that day. I wasn’t
going to blog about it, but this blog is my own sort of diary in many
ways, and I can’t think of how to put another entry in without at least
one about him.

I’m still coming to grips with all of this. I’ve never come close to
this level of loss in my life. I’m very lucky that I have a strong and
loving wife to help me through this, as well as my boys, a great family
and many friends offering support and comfort. I’m not the only one that
this has ever happened to, and unfortunately there will always be more
to come, but I’m very thankful and relieved that I was very close and on
excellent terms with my dad before he left us. He was a loving man, and
always ready to help people and offer advice. He brought smiles to those
around him with his fun and teasing, his quick wit, and his eccentric
character. He was and is my hero, my role model and someone I have and
still strive to follow in the footsteps of. I’m proud of my dad. I miss
him terribly and probably will the rest of my life. I will continue to
try to do what I believe would make him happy and proud, and hopefully
be as good a father to my kids as he was to me.

In honour and loving memory of Clifford Lloyd Hockley, November 12, 1934
– February 7, 2006. We’ll all miss you, but we’ll all smile when we
remember you.