There is a word, often used to describe the smell perfume or cologne can leave in the air, called sillage. It is a noun. Another way of defining "sillage" could be to say the impression made in space after someone or something has passed through.
Yesterday we remembered my father-in-law and the life he lived to the fullest.
My wife,, bravely endured a little bit of physical pain so that when the emotional pain becomes a bit much, she can always look over her shoulder at her father and smile.
I watched my sons dance and spread love and joy at a memorial service in remembrance of a great man. And we all smiled at them as we remembered the man who spread love and joy through a sometimes dark world, many times with a silly dance to an oldie song.
Today I decided to read through my old journals and found that I had written the definition for "sillage" down because it was such an odd and archaic word for something I had experienced but wasn't aware had been defined.
And I realized that my father-in-law left one hell of a "sillage" in his wake. The impression that he left in my life, and in the lives of everyone he touched, is so great that it will never fade. And while it makes me sad that this sillage is what is left, it makes me smile that he lived a life to leave such a great one.
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| This is the tattoo my wife got on Saturday in memory of her father. They both loved ducks. When flying in a V-formation, the duck in the lead with fall back to rest and fly at the back of the formation. The duck at rest (top right) represents her daddy. |
