Replies

Pray for her father, too.

Samantha was born in Northampton, Massachusetts (not to far from me here in Springfield.) According to the newspaper here in town, her father (who lives in Sunderland) took the first nine months of her life off from work to be with her during these early months of her life. The article said that he was heartbroken when Samantha's mother moved with her to California, and now he has to go through this heartbreak all over again. This guy, according to the article, had kept in close contact with Samantha over the years (sending her videos of himself, writing her letters, etc.) I don't know why he didn't go out to California to be closer to her, but he apparently tried his best to maintain some type of relationship with Samantha is spite of the distance between them.

My heart goes out to her mother, step-father, and grandmother, but my heart goes out to her father, for he hasn't lost her once...he has lost her twice.

I'm assuming that the father never married the mother? And that he didn't think enough of his little girl to move to be near her? In that case, although I know his grief is real, I suspect it's probably more from self-recrimination.