Simply because you never know when you won't be able to - anymore.

As I write this, I am 12,000 miles away from where I need to be. I have my ticket booked to go back to blighty, so that I can see my father. Unfortunately my father couldn't hang on long enough to see us. 12,000 miles away - I might as well be on the moon.

Never make the assumption that your loved ones will always be there. Sometimes things happen, things that are out of our control, and we are left to ask ourselves why? Why me? Why us? Sorry I don't have those answers, just that sometimes you have to play the cards that you've been dealt - good or bad. And it's our decisions as to whether we will throw in the cards or stick it out to the end. Well dad hung on as long as he could, but back to back bronchial pneumonia, on top of the emphysema he carried and that was it I'm afraid.

I never had the chance to say goodbye....but I always told him that I loved him as we finished our many telephone conversations. And that is what keeps me going, as I count down the days and hours before getting on the plane. I know I will not be able to see my dad in person, but I can be there for my mum and my siblings.

Be there for yours, your siblings, your parents, your true friends....after all they are the reason we are who we say we are.

Elle xo