Thoughts from far away

We have been thinking so much about Max recently and somehow the space he's left behind seems even bigger. If the gap is raw and painful for us, we wonder what it must be like for those who are closest to him. Max has brought together a whole community of people who will all be at different stages and depths of grieving, but nevertheless united in trying to come to terms with their own sense of loss.

We have been remembering the way Max weaved and tumbled his way through our lives since he was a baby, growing through his teenage years into such a fine young man. Through this we have begun to understand the profound impact these 23 years had on his friendship with our son Owen and the love and brotherhood that bonded the five `boys´ together, namely Max, Louis, Dash, Isaac and Owen.

As we travel through South America we are reminded of the journeys Max, Rosie, the Boys and their friends have made through the world. As we stumble with our Spanish, we realise how Max was continuing his own journey in Spain and how his own understanding of this language was opening up new relationships and experiences for him.

Over the last year we have witnessed such compassion between those closest to Max and the vast community that his loss has brought together. The openess and humanity shown by Victoria, Seamus and Rachel have inspired ways for us to celebrate and mourn. The funeral and wake, the meals and drinks, the walks and talks, the football matches, the hugs, the sculpture and of course the tree have all provided us with opportunities to share our grief and to try and find ways to come to terms with what has happened.

We are so sorry we cannot be there at this time but send our love and thoughts to all of you who will be meeting up at this time.

Peter and Lindsay