My older sister was 72 years old when our dad died, 8 years after Mom's passing. Sis said that her first thought was, Now I'm an orphan.

Her feeling, I think, was akin to my reaction when my younger brother died. It was that the one person who had memories of me from my early childhood was gone.

I suspect that that loss of continuity in our lives is one we share.

Another response to our losses, I think, is the perpetual wish to get information from them. Mom's been gone 25 years, Dad for 17 and there are still things I would like to ask or tell them. I expect that will continue.