I miss my Dad so much, Father’s Day

makes me sad

Andrew Neel Upsplash

My dad spent most of his adult life in the military; two years in the Army, and

over twenty years in the Air Force. His mode of service required him to be

deployed a lot of the time, and when he was home he needed to assert his authority.

My siblings and my mom wouldn’t have that. This resulted in my dad

being viewed as the enemy. My dad and I didn’t learn to

understand or talk to each other until my mom died when I was in my mid-forties.

And it wasn’t always pretty, we were very much alike, but our differences

were enough to cause us to lock horns on many occasions. we learned

though, and we built a very strong relationship the twelve years after my mom died.

My dad was diagnosed with cancer in 2006. A lifelong smoker, it started in his

lungs but metastasized to every cell in his body. In less than six weeks he was gone.

I miss his stories and his jokes. I miss hearing him rant and rave at the T.V.

I miss him reading the Tampa Bay Times aloud. Railing against “The liberal rag.”