She was 12, her daddy was everything.

She was 12 outgoing, rough, & friendly. Across the road from her childhood home sat the grounds of the primary school she did attend. Her daddy sat upon the front step where he would watch her walk to & from school, when he was home.

Sometimes he worked, sometimes he didn’t. When he worked, he worked hard! When he didn’t, he watched his daughter with his protective eye. She was his baby the youngest child out of 8.

Biologically not all 8 children were his own, yet he treated everyone fairly. He raised his youngest with strong discipline, hard love & most importantly morals; to admit when she was in the wrong.

She adored her daddy he would take her on motorcycle rides, buy her milkshakes & watch her compete in gymnastics competitions. Time was spent adequately raising his daughter. The intriguing thing about time; is that we don’t ever know how much of ‘it’ we have left.

One Friday afternoon in late October the young girl walked across the road from school to home, she noticed her daddy wasn’t sat upon the front step. Curious as to why she asked her mother the moment she walked in the door “where is daddy this afternoon?” Her mother, unsure of her own words responded “he is having a lye down, he came home from work explaining that he felt ill”.

Ill? The young girl thought, how strange, she believed she had never noticed her daddy sick before.

“Okay” she said, while shoving some clothes into a backpack she asked her mother another question, a question she already knew the answer to, though asked anyway, because it was the ‘right’ thing to do.

Her daddy told her once before “ask first!” & so she did, “mum? Can I please sleep at Kay’s house tonight? Dee is going to!”

Kay lived about a 3 minute drive away, possibly a 10 minute walk, lots of hills made the walk a little longer. Kay attended primary school with the young girl, & so her mother knew Kay’s parents well & said “sure, be safe!”

The young girl had just turned 12 the month prior, in September of 2005. She was just about finished year 6 & her mind often fell to the thoughts of high school. The local high school was down the road & around the corner. She feared daddy’s protective eye couldn’t keep her safe anymore, her thoughts were interrupted, she had arrived at Kay’s house after a 10 minute walk, she didn’t note the time & immediately started gossiping with Kay & Dee.

The young girl listened to the sound of an ambulance. There was a main road not to far from their houses, where she assumed the sound had traveled from & thought nothing more of it.

A short time later the home phone rang at Kay’s house, in true style of an 11 year old- Kay bolted through the house to answer the home phone. Kay looked at the young girl & whispered ‘it’s your mum’, Kay handed the phone to her own mother & the young girl assumed her mother had rang to check she had arrived safely.

The night went on & the girls had fun, a yummy dinner & dance parties. All of the girls found themselves cartwheeling & hand standing on the front lawn in the moon light, supervised by Kay’s parents on the front verandah.

A car pulled up across the road around 9pm & the young girl thought it to be familiar, she glanced at Kay’s parents & their expressions appeared as if they were expecting visitors.

The young girl walked towards the people stepping out of the car, her mother & uncle.

A million micro thoughts filled her head, why is mother here? Why would she be with my uncle? I’m sure it’s late at night? I doubt I forgot something? Oh, maybe my grandma is sick?

The word sick hit a nerve when it dawned on her the sentence her mum spoke earlier in the afternoon “your father is having a lye down, he said he feels ill”. A voice from heaven was heard before her mother even spoke a word.

“Your daddy has passed away”, she immediately felt numb when she physically heard the words from her mothers voice; “Alison, your father has passed away”.

At 12 years old she could not possibly imagine what the loss of her daddy would look like. The years ahead resulted in an emotional roller coaster navigating her way through the grief. The young girl now utilises her protective eye on her own four children.

I promise to not let my children take time for granted. I promise to share my special moments of you- with my children. I promise to make my children aware of how valuable ‘time’ really is..

In loving memory of my father, Russell Rodney Bennett, 17/12/1955- 28/10/2005.