It’s impossible for anyone to truly understand what would have been going on inside the minds of Bob and Lyn Irwin as they read these words written by their son 12 years ago, but I can only imagine it was a combination of renewed devastation and unabashed pride.
If I would have been reading that long-lost letter in public, people would have felt it necessary to see if I needed help removing myself from a crumpled heap on the floor.
Parents only ever want the best for their children – in the most positive scenarios, anyway – and though it may have taken a long time to have Irwin’s thoughts been by their eyes, the joy imbued in this note must have been a sweet relief in some way.