Happy 80th Birthday Dad...RIP...

[CyberFerret]

I lost my Dad just over a year ago - due to complications in health arising from a stroke.

Isn't a day goes by that I don't miss him.

I know there have been a few members on here that have lost loved ones recently and I just wanted to say that when I first lost my Dad, a lot of people came up to tell me that as long as you remember them, then they will never truly die.

It took me a long while to understand that, but I think I do now. Our whole family is going out tonight to celebrate what would have been Dad's milestone 80th birthday...

[offbeat]

Very cool tradition. I think your father would be proud.
My Dad just turned 92, and his health is failing. I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact that my father won't live forever, but it's still gonna be tough when the day comes.

[scottlr]

I lost my mom in 79, then dad in the late 90s. It's been a long time, but I still miss them both. I think of them often, and I can even hear their voices in my head.

[alguit]

Honoring a loved one's life is such a great idea, and good for the soul!

I lost my dad 20 years ago; he crosses my mind every day. I always think of the line from, of all things, a Leo Kottke album: "It's your father's face you see in the mirror every day"-boy, do I ever! I lost my brother seven years ago to cancer, and he's there too, in his own ways, in things I say and do and ways I try to approach my life.

On Father's Day, I went to his gravesite; although I believe there's no more there than a body, it's the ceremony, the gesture, that does something for me. My girlfriend's 7-year old son then went with us to HIS dad's gravesite in another cemetery-he had made a card which said, "Dear Daddy, I love you and hope you're having a great Father's Day in Heaven"-man, that brought a tear, yet it also was sweet to see that he can in some way think of his dad as a meaningful part of his very existence and everyday life.

I hope you find increading peace; still, often the second year is a tough one when dealing with loss-all the anniversaries come up and we become aware of who is not there. Try to keep doing what you're doing, celebrating the person's life, and focus the best you can on wonderful memories. Finally, and I don't know if you are spiritual/religious, but if you are, there is solace and hope there, too.

All the best,

Alan

[hank]

Just returned from a nephew's wedding in Kansas ...... my home state.

Went to Mom and Dad's graves with some flowers. Bawled like a baby.

I hold them close and think of them daily. Indeed, it's good for the soul.

[guitarist58]

I feel for you. Lost my mom last year (she was the last of my family). I hope your get-together is helpful for everyone involved.

[lousyatit]

My Dad has been gone for five years and like you I miss him constantly. The first couple of years are terrible, hang in there.

[semi-hollowbody]

I think that is a great way to honor your dad...he would be proud!!
Thats really is a good way to remember and look back on someone as important as a dad...

I lost my father in law a year ago...and we just got back from a camping trip by where he used to hunt...we took his ashes to the spot he used to pitch his tent every year for decades...we each drank a miller light in his honor while blasting Neil Diamond songs...sounds VERY cheesy but at the time it just felt right...my wife and her sister really miss their dad and I miss him too...

I cant even imagine loosing my dad or mom...all of my grandparents are deceased and my parents still miss them alot...:(

[RickC]

Nice tradition. Happy Birthday to your Dad.

/rick